Tyson Fury talks mental health, Tom Schwarz, why he couldn't have gotten up from the Deontay Wilder knockdown three years ago

Andreas Hale

Tyson Fury talks mental health, Tom Schwarz, why he couldn't have gotten up from the Deontay Wilder knockdown three years ago image

LAS VEGAS — All 6-feet-9-inches of Tyson Fury is holding court at the David Copperfield Theater at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He’s handling interviews like an expert with some poignant jokes and colorful comments sprinkled in to ensure that no two interviews are the same. 

Some may say his media obligations are more challenging than his opponent on Saturday night, as Fury will make his Las Vegas debut that will coincide with his first fight under the Top Rank/ESPN banner against unheralded Tom Schwarz (24-0, 16 KOs) on June 15. 

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Whether or not he believes that doesn’t matter at this moment. He’s having fun joking with members of the media and just having a good damn time of it all. Just a few minutes earlier, he engaged in a staredown with Schwarz that would make Derek Zoolander and Hansel “So Hot Right Now” McDonald jealous.

 

 

Rather than mean mug one another, the pair of giants decided to have a tongue-in-cheek posedown where the only thing they flashed were their clothes. Fury would win this makeshift runway of a faceoff as his suit, patterned with 1910 cigarette cards, stole the show. 

 

 

It’s a far cry from where Fury was a few years ago. Depressed, drugged up and soaking in liquor, the nearly 400-pound Fury was a mere afterthought after shocking the world and upending Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight title in 2015. But the victory nearly spelled out his demise as another fighter who allowed the fame to poison his future and exasperate his pre-existing suicidal mental state. A well-documented battle with depression ensued and Fury came out on the other side two and a half years later in better shape with his mind intact. 

A pair of victories set himself up for a WBC title clash with the heavy hitting Deontay Wilder last December that ended in a thrilling split draw that was highlighted by Fury rising from the dead after eating a hellacious combination from "The Bronze Bomber" in the 12thround. 

“Everybody counted me out,” Fury says to Sporting News without being specific about his fighting career or being dropped by Wilder. “Nobody thought I had a chance of coming back. Even my family thought I was gone. I was finished, but I dusted myself off and got back at it and here I am.”

Although he was undefeated before needing to step away from the sport, Fury says that there is “no chance” he would have gotten up from that 12th-round knockdown had it not been for him overcoming his "demons.”  

“One hundred percent not,” Fury says. “Because I had overcome the mental issues before I could ever dream to overcome the physical issues. I managed to do that and I’m very thankful for everything turning out the way that it did.”

Fury’s new promoter compared the lineal heavyweight champion to the likes of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman when it comes to fighters who have a cause bigger than what happens in the ring. For Ali, it was civil rights. Foreman wanted to prove that age wasn’t anything but a number when he became the heavyweight champion for the second time at age 45. Fury’s cause is mental health, and the 30-year-old won’t shy away from it. 

“I talk about mental health a lot because 18 months ago I was in a dark place,” he said at the press conference. “I wanted to prove to people that there is a way back. It’s not impossible. I like to inspire people to change their lives. Anyone can come back from anything. 

“I believe my calling card is to help people that are struggling across the world. The oppressed and the down and out. I want to reach out and touch people.”

On Saturday, the first person he’s looking to reach out and touch is Schwarz. And should he leave Vegas victorious, a highly anticipated rematch with Wilder is slated for 2020. Eliminated from this equation is Anthony Joshua, who was stunned by Andy Ruiz just a few weeks earlier. But regardless of how big of an upset Ruiz pulled off, Fury doesn’t believe that there’s any heavyweight who comes close to him, or Wilder, for that matter. 

“It’s me, Deontay and then all of the rest in any order you want to do,” Fury said. 

With something to fight for that is bigger than himself, Fury doesn’t plan on relinquishing his undefeated record to anybody. But the one thing that he’s going to make certain of is that he’s going to entertain while doing what he was born to do. 

Some may think he’s taking Schwarz lightly, but Fury is at his best when he’s having fun. 

"I box because I like to keep happy and it keeps me happy to fight. I plan to box until I can't box anymore,” he said. “I feel fantastic at the minute. Boxing keeps me really happy, and I'm very happy with where I am in my life at the minute. I want to box on. I don't see myself retiring. I just turned 30 years old. I've got over 10 years left in this game, so you'll have to keep seeing me for the next 10 years, I'm afraid. Keep entertaining, keep putting on great shows." 

Andreas Hale

Andreas Hale Photo

Andreas Hale is the senior editor for combat sports at The Sporting News. Formerly at DAZN, Hale has written for various combat sports outlets, including The Ring, Sherdog, Boxing Scene, FIGHT, Champions and others. He has been ringside for many of combat sports’ biggest events, which include Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-McGregor, Canelo-GGG, De La Hoya-Pacquiao, UFC 229, UFC 202 and UFC 196, among others. He also has spent nearly two decades in entertainment journalism as an editor for BET and HipHopDX while contributing to MTV, Billboard, The Grio, The Root, Revolt, The Source, The Grammys and a host of others. He also produced documentaries on Kendrick Lamar, Gennadiy Golovkin and Paul George for Jay-Z’s website Life+Times.