Behind The Mask | Tyson Fury opens up on leaving Kronk Gym plus more...

[dookus]

I totally believe his mental health challenges are real.

Although I also believe that the two issues may well have been connected in that particular period.

It's not beyond the realms of possibility to link a failed drug test with a negative impact on his mental well being thereby creating a downward spiral.

Agree completely.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Tyson Fury Reflects on Positive Test: I Have Never Taken PEDs

Former world champion Tyson Fury discussed his drug test saga, which began in 2015 - when UKAD (UK-Anti-Doping) claimed the boxer tested positive for a high level of nandrolone in February of that year, in the aftermath of a win over Christian Hammer.

It was not only Tyson, but his cousin, heavyweight contender Hughie Fury, who also came up positive for the same substance.

The two boxers reportedly blamed their positive tests on eating uncastrated wild boar - but that piece of information was not mentioned in Tyson Fury's new autobiography, Behind The Mask.

When UKAD went after Fury, an extended legal battle played out.

In the end, both sides reached an agreement in 2017 where Fury accepted a back-dated two year ban. He resumed his career in June of 2018, after being inactive since a career-defining win over Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.

"From February 2015 to December 2017 a cloud of suspicion hung over me relating to an accusation that a high level of nandrolone had been found in my system and that of my cousin, Hughie Fury," Fury wrote in the book, according to The Mirror.

"I had to resolve this before I could truly believe I could fight again. I had been tested regularly by the drugs people at UKAD, probably more than most boxers, and when the case with them finally came to a conclusion they were able to list a series of tests that came back negative.

"The issue of the raised level of nandrolone came in a test in February 2016, but I wasn’t made aware of possible charges against me until long after that. The body naturally produces nandrolone but mine had a high level for some reason. I can categorically state, however, that I have never taken any performance-enhancing drugs and never will.

"The big question that did remain after the case was resolved was why it had taken UKAD so long to sort it out. Why did they leave me in limbo, allowing people to call me a drugs cheat, allowing me to be humiliated like that?

"But God was on my side and when God is on your side, who should you be afraid of? Nobody! When the case did come to a conclusion, the statement by UKAD made it clear that they could not establish why I had that raised level of nandrolone. The case cost over £1 million in lawyers’ fees and it was discussed in the press that if I had won the case – which I know I would have – then it could have left UKAD bankrupt.

"But that could easily have meant another three or four years battling in court. Anyway, the case was finally cleared up and I could seriously start thinking about fighting again."

[SAPFO]

I hate to be cynical, but I do find myself wondering whether the whole mental health thing is just a way of rebranding himself.

I really hope not.

There is another thread a on the main page from approx 8/9 years ago where his Mrs is interviewed and talks about his depression. It’s real. Let’s not try and chip away at another one of our stars as we tend to default to in the UK.


What I really want to know is what happened with Peter?

[margaret thatcher]

People chip away at each other whether they are stars or not.

And I mean, in a sport where people often act up antics for media attention--including actual scripted fighting--it's just natural to be sceptical. Even Fury in the title alludes to being phony at times.

[margaret thatcher]

'The Mask'

[cormack]

fury would open up his arse cheeks to gain attention !

[coneye]

Walking onto the sacred boxing ground, the 30 year-old said, ‘he was the only white guy in the place’ at that time.


Blending in with cousin Andy Lee already there, Fury was soon one of the most-liked in the gym. He would regularly go out to bars entertaining the locals with his signing.

wHAT WAS IT ,, only white guy there , or with cousin Andy ,, he sure does have a taste for the meldramatic ,, be a movie out next , how he survived Detroit , to do what no other white man dared too do

[SAPFO]

So many haters fuckinell!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Review by Ed Needham

Behind The Mask shows a gifted athlete with bottomless reservoirs of determination and a rare willingness to be frank about his vulnerability

One may safely assume Tyson Fury’s encounter with the school careers advisor was one of the briefer instances of preparing the pupil to enter the workplace. Partly because Fury wasn’t there, having quit school at ten, but coming from a long line of boxers, brawlers, bare-knucklers and the odd grandmother who “was no pushover”, he was destined for the fight game from day one.

Literally. Born three months premature and needing to be revived three times when only a few minutes old, his father John, himself a professional boxer, prophesied that this child would one day become the heavyweight champion of the world. An appropriate name was thus bestowed, and so it came to pass.

Treating him with the reverence traditionally accorded such a warrior, however, has not been so easy for the public. Turning up for press conferences dressed as Batman, for example, or piling on the stones during long spells of depression have complicated his acceptance as an elite sportsman. Yet he’s always been an outrageous athlete. As a child he could bash a golf ball 250 yards with just one hand.

His terrifying immensity – 6ft 5in and 15 stone by the age of 14 – cut both ways though, as in early fights opponents would take one look at him and vanish, but word of the teenage traveller sensation spread. And while training facilities remained “basic” (including “outside Uncle Hughie’s mechanic’s shed”), as did nutrition (pies by Asda), his versatility and self-confidence, combined with some canny family cornermen saw him flatten increasingly more skilful opponents.

In turn, they led to more eccentric celebrations. After battering the American Kevin Johnson in Belfast, the post-fight festivities back at the hotel featured Fury’s singing to Johnson’s piano accompaniment. He emerged shirtless from Madison Square Garden after beating Steve Cunningham and spent his entire purse on a chinchilla coat. But after beating Vladimir Klitschko to win the world title in 2015, he was himself flattened by depression for two years, which came at him with all the tricks: paranoia, hallucinations, insomnia, multi-day drinking benders, suicidal ideation.

He was diagnosed with OCD and as bipolar, but only began the climb back up to the ring, and back down to his fighting weight (from ten stone over), when like many fighters before him, he knelt to ask God for assistance. God agreed, and once various scheduling irritations were set aside, he gave the fearsome Deontay Wilder, and the boxing world, the shock of its life when Wilder knocked him OUT COLD, only for Fury to come round at the count of five and carry on fighting. (Wilder/Fury II is in February.)

There are times in the book when Fury skates over the detail, such as “my dad was handed a prison sentence after a row with another man” – he got 11 years for gouging another man’s eye out – or unexplained fallings out with close family members, but otherwise he delivers on his “Behind the Mask” promise. Beneath the rowdy showmanship is a gifted athlete with bottomless reservoirs of determination and a rare willingness to be frank about his vulnerability to depression. Like Wilder, you may have to take him more seriously than your instincts suggest.

Behind the Mask, by Tyson Fury. Century, £20

[Cyclops]

The only reason I would buy a copy of this is if it was a signing event somewhere and I got to meet the bloke. I'd like to meet Tyson, even if it was just briefly. Otherwise I don't really pay much mind to Sports autobiographies. Biographies, OK. But Tyson is always contradicting himself and chatting rubbish. I can't watch interviews with him anymore. I still think he'd be interesting to meet in person. But I don't need to read 300 pages of egotistical twaddle in large print.

Is he doing any other signings in the South East, Ruthless-RKO? I'd go to one if he did.

[Ruthless-RKO]

The only reason I would buy a copy of this is if it was a signing event somewhere and I got to meet the bloke. I'd like to meet Tyson, even if it was just briefly. Otherwise I don't really pay much mind to Sports autobiographies. Biographies, OK. But Tyson is always contradicting himself and chatting rubbish. I can't watch interviews with him anymore. I still think he'd be interesting to meet in person. But I don't need to read 300 pages of egotistical twaddle in large print.

Is he doing any other signings in the South East, Ruthless-RKO? I'd go to one if he did.

Not sure. Think it was just the original launch in London.

[Cyclops]

The only reason I would buy a copy of this is if it was a signing event somewhere and I got to meet the bloke. I'd like to meet Tyson, even if it was just briefly. Otherwise I don't really pay much mind to Sports autobiographies. Biographies, OK. But Tyson is always contradicting himself and chatting rubbish. I can't watch interviews with him anymore. I still think he'd be interesting to meet in person. But I don't need to read 300 pages of egotistical twaddle in large print.

Is he doing any other signings in the South East, Ruthless-RKO? I'd go to one if he did.

Not sure. Think it was just the original launch in London.

He should make a trip to world renowned boxing venue Bluewater in Kent. They've got a Waterstones.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Tyson Fury wins two awards for his autobiography

Heavyweight king Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) published his book ‘Behind The Mask’ in November 2019, which revealed all about his incredible life in and out of the ring.

The brutally honest autobiography soared to number one in the Amazon best-selling book charts within 24 hours of release and has now received two prestigous awards at the 2020 Telegraph Sports Awards.

'The Gypsy King' posted the news on social media on July 16, "Boom! I’m delighted to win the Best Autobiography of the Year Award at the 2020 Telegraph Sports Awards and the Overall Sports Book of the Year Award. It’s a real honour to win 2 awards alongside some real sporting heroes. Thanks everyone for the support!"

'Behind the Mask: My Autobiography’ tells the story of Britain’s number one sportsman as he defied the odds and went from becoming unified world Heavyweight champion in November 2015, in what was one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history, to the brink of suicide.

Following a dramatic weight loss after ballooning to 28st, he challenged fearsome puncher Deontay Wilder, where he lifted himself off the floor in round 12 when he looked to have been knocked out cold, producing one of boxing’s most magical moments ever. In the rematch, he wiped the floor with the unbeaten 'Bronze Bomber' and captured the WBC green and gold belt, making him the first man in history to win all the heavyweight world titles.

The 31-year-old has become a superstar around the world due to his larger-than-life persona, along with his incredible boxing skills that has seen him become the best heavyweight on the planet. Due to his demons outside of the ring, Fury has also become an advocate for mental health, helping others deal with their own battles and issues.