Tyson Luke Fury, born on 12 August 1988, is a British professional boxer who has held multiple world heavyweight championships.
The Story Of Tyson Fury
Tyson Fury after victory over Dillian Whyte.
Early Life and Background
Tyson Luke Fury was born in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester on 12 August 1988, to Irish Traveller parents Amber and John Fury. He was born three months premature and weighed just 1 pound (450 g). His father named him after Mike Tyson, who was the reigning undisputed heavyweight world champion, explaining that the doctors believed he had little chance of survival.
Fury left school when he was 11 and joined his father and three brothers tarmacking roads. His mother, Amber, had 14 pregnancies, but only four of the children survived. A daughter, Ramona, was born in December 1997 but died within days. This experience has stayed with Fury, who was nine years old at the time.
Amateur Career
As an amateur, Fury represented both England and Ireland. He represented Ireland three times at international level. As a junior, Fury was ranked number three in the world behind the Russians Maxim Babanin and Andrey Volkov. He did not get the chance to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics because each country is restricted to one boxer per weight division, and David Price was selected, who came up through the amateur Olympic programme.
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Professional Debut and Early Fights
Fury made his professional debut at the age of 20 on 6 December 2008 in Nottingham, on the undercard of Carl Froch vs. Jean Pascal. Fury scored two more victories against Tomas Mrazek (4-22-5) and Hans-Joerg Blasko (9-3) before facing McDermott in a rematch on 25 June 2010. Fury settled the controversy of the first fight, as he knocked down McDermott three times, first in the 8th round then twice in the 9th round to win by TKO.
British and Commonwealth Titles
On 23 July 2011, Fury faced undefeated heavyweight Derek Chisora for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles at Wembley Arena in London. Although Chisora was aged 27 and Fury 22 years old, both men went into the fight with a record of 14-0. Despite Fury's superior size and reach, Chisora was the favorite.
On 17 September 2011, Fury fought 32-year-old fringe contender Nicolai Firtha (20-8-1, 8 KOs) in a non-title bout at the King's Hall, Belfast. Firtha took the fight on two weeks' notice. The opening two rounds were dominated by Fury. In round 3, Firtha landed a big punch which looked to trouble Fury. Fury regained control of the fight by the next round and forced the referee to stop the fight at 2 minutes, 19 seconds on round 5.
Fury returned to the ring on 12 November at the Event City in Trafford Park, Manchester to defend his Commonwealth heavyweight title against undefeated Canadian heavyweight champion Neven Pajkic (16-0, 5 KOs). Fury had an early scare after being knocked down in round 2 following a big right hand. Although Pajkic hobbled Fury again at the outset of round 3, Fury came back to knock down Pajkic twice during that round. The referee stopped the fight after the last knockdown, causing Pajkic to protest, who declared himself ready to fight on.
Pursuit of World Titles
Fury vacated his British and Commonwealth belts in order to pursue a future world title match. He said to the media of his decision to vacate the belts, "I vacated the British and Commonwealth titles, which some people say are more prestigious than the Irish title, but not to me. I vacated those belts for an Irish title shot because it meant more to me. All my people are from Ireland. I was born in Manchester but I am Irish."
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Irish Heavyweight Title
On 14 April 2012, Fury traveled to Belfast to fight at the Odyssey Arena for the vacant Irish heavyweight title. His opponent was veteran Martin Rogan (14-2, 7 KOs). Rogan had not fought in 18 months and had not beaten an opponent with a winning record since 2009. At 245+3⁄4 pounds (111.5 kg), Fury was fighting at the lightest weight of his professional career to date. Fury put Rogan on the canvas with a left hook in the third round. Rogan went down again in round 5 from a body shot.
WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title
On 7 July, Fury fought for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title against American boxer Vinny Maddalone (35-7, 26 KOs) at the Hand Arena in Clevedon, Somerset. Fury weighed 245.5 pounds (111.4 kg), marginally lighter than the Rogan fight. Maddalone entered with a record of 4-3 in his previous seven bouts. Fury improved his record to 19-0 with 14 stoppage wins, with a fifth-round technical knockout over Maddalone. Fury controlled the fight from the onset and stunned Maddalone with a combination in the opening round. Fury continued to land heavy punches and opened a cut under his opponent's left eye in the fourth. In round 5, with Maddalone taking punches, the referee stepped in and called an end to the bout with blood streaming out of the cut under the veteran's left eye. It was the fifth knockout loss of Maddalone's professional career.
In the post-fight interviews, Fury said, "I knew it was a matter of time. I actually called the referee over, he was taking some big shots. I'm still undefeated. I would like to say I'm ready for anyone in the world. Klitschkos, bring them on. Americans, bring them on. Bring on Tomasz Adamek.
WBC Title Eliminator
On 12 November 2012, it was announced that Fury would fight American world title contender Kevin Johnson (28-3-1, 13 KOs) in a WBC title eliminator at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 1 December. Fury said, "Johnson is just the kind of opponent that I want at this stage of my career. We needed a world class fighter and we have got one." Fury won via unanimous decision over Johnson. After 12 rounds, the judges scored it 119-110, 119-108, and 119-108 in favor of Fury. Many media outlets including the BBC and ESPN dubbed the fight as a poor showing. Fury claimed he would score a good win, just as rival David Price did when he stopped Matt Skelton a night earlier, but instead eased to a decision victory.
IBF Title Eliminator
On 20 February 2013, it was reported that Fury would fight highly ranked American former cruiserweight world champion Steve Cunningham (25-5, 12 KOs) in his United States debut at Madison Square Garden Theater on 20 April. The bout was an IBF title eliminator to determine the number 2 world ranking, with the winner then needing to fight unbeaten Bulgarian heavyweight Kubrat Pulev for the mandatory position for a shot at the long reigning world champion Wladimir Klitschko. Fury fought wildly in the first two rounds of the bout, and was floored heavily by Cunningham in the 2nd round. Cunningham continued to land heavy punches on Fury for the next few rounds, until being worn down by Fury's size advantage and power punches. By round seven, Fury had fully rebounded and handed Cunningham the first knockout defeat of his career with a cuffing right hand against the rope. Earlier, in round five, Fury was docked a point following a headbutt. At the time of the stoppage, Fury was behind on two judges' scorecards 57-55, while the other judge had it 56-56 (even). A week after the fight, Cunningham spoke to ATG Radio, claiming that Fury used an illegal maneuver to knock him out, "He held me with his forearm.
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Canceled Fights and Retirement Announcement
Fury was due to fight David Haye (26-2, 24 KOs) on 28 September 2013, in a fight which would have seen Fury fight on a pay-per-view platform for the first time. However, Haye pulled out of the fight on 21 September, after sustaining a cut, which required six stitches, above the eye during training. The fight was originally postponed to 8 February 2014. Haye pulled out of the fight a second time on 17 November, stating that he had a career-threatening shoulder injury which required surgery, and hinted at his retirement. Fury believed that Haye was making excuses because he did not want the fight, saying "I'm absolutely furious but in all honesty this is exactly what I expected.
Fury announced his retirement on 20 November 2013, stating on social media "I have officially retired from boxing. There's [sic] too many bent people in the sport. They will have to ffuck someone else. Goodbye boxing." He confirmed his decision the next day, stating "Just to confirm I'm not in a bad mood or anything.
Return to the Ring
On 24 January 2014, it was announced that Fury would fight at the Copper Box Arena against Argentine veteran Gonzalo Omar Basile (61-8, 27 KOs) on 15 February. On 5 February, Basile pulled out of the fight due to a lung infection. He was replaced by American journeyman Joey Abell (29-7, 28 KOs). Fury won the fight via 4th-round TKO, which set up a rematch with Chisora in the summer. Ring rust showed in the opening two rounds with Abell connecting with left hands, which had Fury against the ropes. But Fury managed to compose himself and get behind the jab. In the third round, Fury floored Abell with a right hand. Abell beat the count but was floored again, this time being saved by the bell. Two more knockdowns followed in round 4 ending the fight.
After the fight, Fury took to the microphone, "Tyson too fast Fury, that's the name, fighting's the game and these are bums compared to me.
Rematch with Chisora
Fury was due to fight rival and heavyweight contender Derek Chisora for the second time on 26 July 2014, for the European and once again the British heavyweight title. On 21 July, Chisora was forced to pull out after sustaining a fractured hand in training. Russian Alexander Ustinov was lined up as Chisora's replacement in the bout scheduled to take place at the Manchester Arena. Fury pulled out of the fight after his uncle and former trainer Hughie Fury was taken seriously ill. However, Fury and Chisora rescheduled the rematch for 29 November 2014 at ExCeL London. The bout was also a WBO title eliminator and shown live on BoxNation.
Fury was victorious again after dominating the fight up until Chisora's corner pulled him out at the end of the 10th round. Fury also used a southpaw stance for the majority of the fight, despite the traditional right-handed orthodox stance being his preference. Fury used his jab to trouble Chisora and stayed on the outside with his longer reach to dominate the fight. Chisora failed to land any telling punches, and due to Fury's awkward fighting style, ended up hitting him below the belt. Chisora was warned by referee Marcus McDonnell in the first round.
After the fight, Fury said, "Wladimir Klitschko, I'm coming for you, baby. I'm coming.
Preparing for Klitschko
On 26 December 2014, Sky Sports News announced that Fury would fight once more before challenging Klitschko for his world titles. His opponent was Christian Hammer (17-3, 10 KOs) and the fight took place on 28 February 2015 at the O2 Arena in London. Fury said he went for an opponent that would give him a challenge rather than an "easier" opponent, before challenging Klitschko. Fury went on to win the fight when it came to a halt in the 8th round via corner stoppage. Fury dominated the fight from the opening bell and dropped Hammer in round 5 with a short right hook.
Victory Against Klitschko
In July 2015, it was confirmed that Fury would fight Wladimir Klitschko in a world heavyweight title showdown, for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles. Initially scheduled for 24 October 2015, the fight was postponed to 28 November 2015 after Klitschko sustained a calf injury. The fight took place at Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany. On fight night, there was controversy with the gloves, then a complaint about the ring canvas. Klitschko reportedly had his hands wrapped without the presence of a Fury representative, so had to do them again.
Fury won after 12 rounds by a unanimous decision. The judges scored the fight 115-112, 115-112, and 116-111. Klitschko and Fury showed little offense during the 12 rounds, but Fury was more active and did enough each round to take the decision. In the post-fight interview, an emotional Fury said, "This is a dream come true. We worked so hard for this. I've done it. It's hard to come to foreign countries and get decisions. It just means so much to me to come here and get the decision." He then took the microphone and thanked Klitschko, "I'd like to say to Wladimir, you're a great champion. And thanks very much for having me. It was all fun and games during the buildup." Klitschko failed to throw his well-known right hand, mostly due to Fury's constant movement and mocking. He said, "Tyson was the faster and better man tonight. I felt quite comfortable in the first six rounds, but I was astonished that Tyson was so fast in the second half as well.
On 8 December 2015, the IBF stripped Fury of its title, as the contract for the fight against Klitschko included a rematch clause, precluding Fury from facing the IBF's mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov. Following months of negotiation, the rematch with Klitschko was announced on 8 April 2016, this time with the fight scheduled to take place in Fury's hometown of Manchester at the Manchester Arena on 9 July 2016. Despite agreeing terms for the rematch, Fury said he had "no motivation" and had gained an extreme amount of weight after the first fight, as he weighed over 24 stone (330 lb or 150 kg) by April 2016. On 24 June 2016, it was announced that this fight would be postponed to a later date due to Fury sustaining a sprained ankle in training. On the same day, Fury and his cousin, Hughie Fury, were charged by UK Anti-Doping "with presence of a prohibited substance", namely nandrolone, from a sample taken 16 months previously in February 2015. Tyson and Hughie said that they "strenuously deny" the charge.
On 23 September, Fury again postponed the fight after being declared "medically unfit". ESPN reported that Fury had failed a drug test for cocaine a day before the second postponement. Fury's mental health deteriorated after winning the world titles. On 3 October 2016, Fury announced his retirement from boxing for the second time, although he walked this back ...
Tyson Fury.
Honors and Achievements
Tyson Fury has received numerous accolades throughout his career:
- In 2015, his victorious fight against Wladimir Klitschko was named Upset of the Year and earned him Fighter of the Year by The Ring.
- In 2018, his drawn fight against Deontay Wilder was named Round of the Year and earned him Comeback of the Year by The Ring.
- In 2020, his rematch defeat of Deontay Wilder earned him Fighter of the Year for a second time, and Fury became the third heavyweight, after Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali, to hold The Ring magazine title twice.
- In 2021, his trilogy fight against Wilder was named Fight of the Year by The Ring.
- In February 2025, Sportico ranked Fury at No. 3 among the highest-paid athletes of 2024, with an estimated income of $147 million.
- In May 2025, Forbes put him at No.
Championships Held
Fury has held the following championships:
| Championship | Years |
|---|---|
| Unified World Heavyweight Titles | 2015-2016 |
| The Ring Magazine Title | 2015-2022 |
| World Boxing Council (WBC) Title | 2020-2024 |
| British Heavyweight Title | 2011-2015 |
| European Title | 2014-2015 |
| Commonwealth Title | 2011-2012 |