9th October, 2016
World boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is prepared to relinquish his World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) belts and could return to training in six months.
Peter Fury, the uncle of the 28-year-old Briton, said the fighter had been in depression and should be taking some time out of the sport.
Fury has withdrawn from his rematch with Ukraine’s Wladimir Klitschko, scheduled for Oct. 29, because of mental health issues.
“It’s driven him to despair,’’ said Peter Fury, who is also Tyson’s trainer.
NAN reports that the boxer has said he was taking cocaine to help deal with depression.
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is meeting on Wednesday when it would look at Fury’s admission, which was made during an interview.
The WBO and WBA — the two organisations with which Fury holds heavyweight titles — can strip the unbeaten Englishman of the title.
“I see him being back in the gym in March or April. He’ll resume his career,’’ added Fury’s uncle.
The Englishman, who has not fought since beating Klitschko last November, postponed the original rematch in June.
He beat Ukraine’s Klitschko last November to win the WBA, IBF and WBO titles.
Within two weeks of this, Fury was stripped of the IBF title because he was unable to fight mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov.
Fury had on Monday tweeted to say boxing was the “saddest thing’’ he had taken part in and suggested he was retiring from the sport, before changing his decision a few hours later.
Peter Fury gave an insight into his nephew’s current state of mind, saying he was being treated for a form of manic depression.
“He has everything to live for but it seems he is on a self-destruct mission,’’ he said. “I don’t think he has got a drug addiction at all. Whatever he has taken will be a result of the depression.
“The titles shouldn’t be held up. While Tyson is out for medical reasons, the titles should be freed up. Let people fight for them.
“But Tyson should be held in regard so that when he does come back to box he should be available to move straight into position to fight for those world titles.
“Quite clearly this young man has got some mental issues and I ask the world to give this plenty of consideration. Other famous people have had these kind of problems and bounced back.’’
In a reaction to this, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza has said in an interview that Fury deserved a chance “to overcome this situation’’.
“Our main concern is what’s going on with the title and the whole situation that’s around him.
“We will request our medical advisers to send him some kind of treatment for him that he shall follow.
“We just started a process to give him the right to speak about the situation. We will follow the due process.
“I cannot say if we will strip him of the title, or any “yes’’ or “no’’ answer, but the substance he took is a prohibitive substance that is against the rules and we have to take that into account.
“That’s the big trouble for us, we always have to defend a clean sport.”