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‘Depressed' boxer Tyson Fury admits to cocaine use

Tyson Fury announced his retirement from boxing on Monday, only to reverse his decision within three hours  
Tyson Fury announced his retirement from boxing on Monday, only to reverse his decision within three hours   Tyson Fury announced his retirement from boxing on Monday, only to reverse his decision within three hours  

TYSON Fury claims he has taken cocaine on "many, many occasions" in the last six months and that he does not know if he will "see the year out".

In a dark interview with Rolling Stone, the 28-year-old appears to confirm recent reports of a positive test for the drug and opens up on the depression keeping him out of the ring. Fury has not fought since taking Wladimir Klitschko's heavyweight belts off him last November, with their proposed rematch now cancelled twice at Fury's request.

Injury was cited the first time and, ahead of an October 29 date, Fury was declared "medically unfit", with many in the boxing world fearing for his mental well-being. Furthermore, on Monday he wrote on his Twitter account that he had retired, only to reverse the decision within three hours.

There had been no comment from Fury's camp on the cocaine reports - said to have come from a test done by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association - but the fighter himself appears to have confirmed them to Rolling Stone. In an interview the magazine says was conducted on Monday and before his retirement U-turn, Fury says: "Listen, I've done a lot of things in my life. I've done lots of cocaine. Lots of it.

"Why shouldn't I take cocaine? It's my life isn't it? I can do what I want. Yeah, I have done cocaine. Plenty of people have done cocaine as well."

Going on to explain why the fight has been called off again, he added: "I've not been in a gym for months. I've not been training. I've been going through depression. I just don't want to live any more, if you know what I'm saying. I've had total enough of it.

"They've forced me to the breaking edge. Never mind cocaine. I just didn't care. I don't want to live any more. So cocaine is a little minor thing compared to not wanting to live any more."

In further quotes which would appear to support the reports of a failed test, Fury added: "I never took other drugs, ever, in my life. I only started to take cocaine in the last few months."

Fury's comments could well be of interest and general concern to the British Boxing Board of Control, but they were unavailable for comment when contacted, as were Fury's camp. He did, however, claim he has been clean since the first of the month. Fury believes there has been a witch hunt against him ever since he dethroned Klitschko in their first meeting, taking his IBF, WBO and WBA titles. He was stripped of the former when it became clear he would pursue a rematch and not fight mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov.

A member of the travelling community, Fury says there are people who want him thrown out of the sport and fears he may not live to see the end of the year as he battles his demons: "It's been nothing more than a witch hunt," he added.

"From [the Klitschko fight] on, they've tried to get me chucked out of boxing because they cannot tame me, they cannot hire me, I'm not for sale, no one can turn a key in my back, no one can do nothing to stop me. So now they're saying I took some cocaine and whatever. Listen, if I had some smack, I'd take it. If I had heroin I'd take that, never mind cocaine, for what they've done to me. It's a travesty what they've done. I'm in a very bad place at the moment. I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I don't know what's going to happen to me. I don't know if I'm going to see the year out, to be honest."

In the interview, Fury talks about his decision to retire, something he later reversed on Twitter and followed up with a declaration of better health: "Good news is I'm getting the right help & I'll be back even stronger than before, try & stop me!!" he wrote.