Tyson Fury: The sporting hero Britain never wanted

For the second time this year, Tyson Fury withdrew from his mandatory rematch versus Wladimir Klitschko. The announcement made him public enemy number one to many frustrated fans who were looking forward to seeing the dominant-until-dethroned Wlad forced to head over to these shores to try and avenge his defeat to the ‘Gipsy King’.

The weirdest part of this is that the second cancellation of this bout came almost a year to the day that Klitschko himself postponed the fight they actually had last year - and that this particular abandoned fight night was the latest in a string of disappointments for Fury.

Over the last three years, David Haye (twice), Dereck Chisora and Klitschko have all withdrawn from bouts versus Tyson. The latter two eventually happened - and were both won by the Morecambe giant. The attempts to fight the ‘Hayemaker’ never did.

He admitted to Yahoo Sport UK in 2014 that the string of letdowns and all the money wasted on training camps had him seriously contemplating retirement. He’d hang in there, of course, and last November in Dusseldorf it all paid off.

After the original rematch date of July 9 fell through thanks to a Fury injury, some even joked that this was his revenge for all the times he’d been messed around. After a second postponement following weeks of evasiveness, however, it appears that the boxing community has had enough.

Some of the negativity towards Fury has been very disappointing. After all, it appears he has withdrawn from the bout due to mental health issues. Let’s not forget that mental illness is a killer, and it’s hypocritical to preach about mental health awareness but then suddenly decide that it’s okay to heap it on Fury because he’s a public figure not everyone particularly likes who has said some incredibly insensitive things in the past. Two wrongs don’t make a right, and abusing what one may consider an ‘approved target’ is still abuse.

However, it’s fair to say that this is surely the end of Fury’s reign as world heavyweight champion. Under these circumstances, it’s important he gets all the support and help he needs from the right people but boxing will move on and titles need to be defended. After being stripped of the IBF belt for political reasons not long after his big triumph, all the other belts are set to follow suit under more understandable circumstances.

Tyson’s trainer and uncle Peter Fury announced that a full statement would be released on Tuesday. However he did speak to iFL TV over the weekend during which he offered some insight into why Fury will not be rematching Klitschko after all.

“He is seeking help,” Peter said, “When we were abroad in Holland we had various issues with him – he was snapping a lot, and although he was coming to the gym his mind was elsewhere some days.

“I think that, because of the witch hunt against him and recent allegations, it’s put him over the edge. He said: ‘If this is what boxing’s doing, I don’t want it.’”

“There’s a lot to be answered for,” Peter continued. “It’s very disappointing for me because we’ve got a super talent here and he’s been driven underground with it, almost to the point that he’s at breaking point.

“He’s at an all time low. I think he’s always been a little up and down in the past, a bit volatile, always has been, but never like this. He just sees it as a complete witch hunt, and why bother?

“Everyone needs to look at what they’re doing, they’re doing a lot of damage to him. He’s a nice human being, Tyson, no matter what people say. He’s a gentleman to everyone and this is how he gets treated.”

Indeed, Fury never became the British boxing hero that Lennox Lewis did when he climbed to the top of the heavyweight mountain. Some of the reasons why people dislike him are understandable. Others aren’t. But as shown by the contrasting reactions between Fury’s two postponements and the multiple times his opponent has done it to him, it appears his quest for recognition was doomed to fail.

I was ringside at Dusseldorf’s ESPRIT Arena when Fury dethroned Klitschko. It truly was an incredible achievement, all things considered. Many fans prefer to remember only that it was a chore to watch. It was. But Tyson weathered all those postponements, having his property subjected to an arson attack and the serious doubts over whether to keep boxing.

He then weathered countless attempts by Wlad to trigger what the defending titlist perceived as ‘mental instability’, which feels particularly uncomfortable in hindsight. Klitschko wore lifts to the weigh-in, had extra padding added to the ring and deliberately got his hands taped without a Fury camp member present, all the psyche out the challenger. But Tyson remained focused, and left Peter and others to fix all of the above.

He then made the man who had dominated the maximum-weight division for a decade look older and more over-the-hill than he had ever looked. Tyson executed Peter’s tactical gameplan to perfection, and left Wlad chasing a fight for the first time in an eternity with his superior footwork and clever use of his 6’9” frame.

Instead of returning to England to a hero’s welcome, however, Fury was widely criticised for putting a winning gameplan ahead of a thrilling fight for the audience. Several media sources also picked this moment to reprint admittedly-unsavoury comments Fury had made in the past. And while there’s no condoning sexist or homophobic remarks, it was alarming to see some deciding to time their ‘outrage’ for when his in-ring exploits made him a trending topic.

Peter explained: “When he won the world title he said to me: ‘I came back, I picked up the paper, I expected to be celebrated.’ Straight away, he said, the hate campaign started. He was complaining about it a lot but said: ‘OK, we’ve got to accept it, I’ve won the world title and this is how I’m treated.

“On many occasions he’s asked: ‘What’s it for? Because if I’m not being credited for the work I’ve done and what I’ve achieved, why am I bothering?’

It appears, finally, Fury has run out of reasons to bother. His reign as world heavyweight champion is set to end just shy of the one-year mark, without a single title defence to his name.

It’s just a shame that, despite well and truly earning his place in the record books as a champion of the world, Britain has ensured he never truly felt like a champion from the moment he had his hand raised in Germany.

Despite this turn of events, however, Peter does not think that this is the end for Tyson as an active competitor just yet.

“100% [he will be back],” he said. “I don’t think it is anything severe in terms of long-term effects but he needs a bit of time out to take the pressure off, needs some medical assistance, and I think he’ll be OK.”

Once again: mental health is a serious issue, whether it affects someone you love or a Tyson Fury/John Terry figure of public hate. Whatever happens as far as Fury’s career is concerned, let’s hope he gets through this OK and finds the inner peace he appears to have been searching for since his fledgling days as a pro.