By Elliott West
“Once I set my mind on something, I always achieve it”.
Tyson Fury
Introduction
Nicknamed ‘The Gypsy King’, Tyson Luke Fury was born in 1988 and has since quickly risen to be one of the most prominent heavyweight boxers of the modern era despite the various twists and turns on the road of this meteoric rise to fame. Treading in the same footsteps as Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali, this Mancunian doesn’t pull any punches and was voted in 2021 by ESPN as the world’s best active heavyweight boxer. A two-times heavyweight champion, Fury defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 and Deontay Wilder in 2020 to gain the right to this accolade. A boxer who also holds a number of belts as an amateur in junior and national levels, representing England and the Republic of Ireland. A deadly fighter who has won an impressive 31 of his 32 fights.
The Man Himself
Proud of his Irish Traveller roots, Tyson Fury’s family have a rich flow of blood from Belfast and Galway and only deviated when his parents decided to move to Styal in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester where Tyson was subsequently born in 1988 three months prematurely, weighing just one pound. A fighter from the outset, Tyson defied medical expectations and survived this first obstacle in his life. An obstacle that sadly cursed the family with only four of fourteen of his mother’s children surviving pregnancy.
Fury left school at the age of 11 and joined his father and brother in the family business of tarmacking roads. Not for the faint-hearted, this backbreaking occupation that requires hours of hard graft, exposed to the elements was partnered by Tyson entering the boxing ring, learning to spar and master the ropes that would one day make him a future champion, encouraged by a long-standing coach, his father John.
John Fury had originally been a bare-knuckle fighter and later a professional boxer, one of the many men in the family tree who proudly carried out this pastime. Legend figures such as Uriah Burton and Bartley Gorman were just a few of the men that dominated this activity. They were considered kings of the gipsy world and revered by their community.
Love and Marriage
Finding love at an early age, Tyson would go on to marry his childhood sweetheart Paris Mulroy in 2008 in Doncaster, a couple that had met when he was 17 and she was 15. A blossoming romance that flourished after they started dating a year after meeting and would be in a large and joyous family of six children. Fury would name all of his three sons Prince, believing that they had to earn their rightful name. In fact, the inspiration for the name for his first son came from one of his boxing heroes, Prince Naseem.
Now residing with his family in Morecambe, Lancashire, Tyson has upsettingly been subject to cultural abuse due to his traveller upbringing. This vile bias is totally wrong and Fury deserves his titles on merit and can be extremely proud of his heritage. Far from being work-shy, the travelling community are extremely industrious, putting their focus on the sheer importance of the family and family values.
Afterthoughts
Tyson Fury is definitely one the best heavyweight boxers that have ever graced a boxing ring. Soon to take on Dillon Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April 2022. Tyson has recently been trying to persuade his 57-year-old father, John, back in the ring and John still holds a dream of fighting Mike Tyson. So his father could still possibly feature as an undercard when Tyson next fights. A plan that is currently being thrashed out behind the scenes by the boxing promoter, Frank Warren. Another possibility is the 22-year-old boxer, Jared Anderson who is reportedly flying over from America to spar with Tyson Fury.
“I live in Morecambe, in Lancashire. It’s cheap there. I don’t have any big habits like I’m gambling tons of money away. I don’t do anything. I can never spend the money I’ve got”.
Tyson Fury
Fury has told the press that he intends to retire after this fight and will earn a staggering £100 million as a result. Although this figure is not the reason for his retirement. He just feels that he now has enough money than he will ever need. An amazing achievement for someone who is only 33 years old. Fury may be tempted to postpone his decision with other potential fights being lined up if he changes his mind. These include fights against Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk. Since writing this piece, Tyson will return to the ring to fight Oleksandr Usyk at Boulevard Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
