Speaking two years ago about how he’d previously found retirement, Tyson Fury said bluntly: “I’d gone from topping the bill at Wembley in front of 94,000, to picking up dog s*** on a run.”
That comment sums up how, beyond the bravado of yesterday’s social media announcement, only one thing is for certain: the Gypsy King is now facing up to the biggest fight of his life. A life after boxing.
If he wants some advice on just how tough it is to wave goodbye to a career in the ring he could do a lot worse than pick up the phone to his long-term friend Frank Bruno.
August 30, 1996 is a date Frank will never forget – the day he sat down before the world’s media to announce his career was over.
His decision followed a brutal defeat to Mike Tyson which saw Frank lose his cherished world title belt.
Doctors warned Frank another punch would leave him blind – making the decision to exit a pretty simple one for both the fighter and for his management.
But it still didn’t make the decision an easy one.
After the press conference Frank’s coach and mentor, the late George Francis, pulled Bruno aside and told him: “The fight starts now, Frank. The fight starts now.”
Frank later told me in the first of two books we wrote together, Let Me Be Frank, that he wasn’t sure what George was talking about.
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“I was confused,” Frank told me. “I said to him ‘George what fight? It’s over George. I’m not boxing anymore.’
“But now I know exactly what he meant. Waving goodbye to boxing would go on to be the hardest thing ever I did.”
For Frank, divorce, a bipolar diagnosis and a dark battle with mental ill health followed in a harrowing journey which would see him repeatedly sectioned.
He’s not the only boxer to suffer after quitting the ring. Ricky Hatton, another national hero, has spoken openly about the horrific impact retirement initially had.
The brilliant Four Kings documentary recently shown on Amazon also outlined the personal battles Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn faced in their lives.
State-side, Mike Tyson and Oliver McCall endured hellish battles with their demons.
It’s not difficult to work out why boxers often struggle. Overnight they go from performing in the centre of sellout stadiums to nothing.
And once the music stops the sound of silence can become deafening.
So too can be the impact of a life without training which often keeps their minds as strong as their fists.
For Frank, three decades on, his life has remarkably transformed. He’s well, healthy and running a mental health foundation which helps thousands of people each year.
But even now he STILL gets offers to return the ring – often in exchange for millions of pounds.
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Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing once again
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And despite being aged 63, I know Frank will still often ask himself: “Could I still do it…is there one final fight in me.”
Tyson Fury is still only 36. And the fact he took just 17 seconds to bring down the curtain on a remarkable career leads me to think this probably isn’t the end of the story. A blockbuster and very lucrative fight with Anthony Joshua is, after all, still on the table. And it will remain on the table for as long as boxing fans demand it.
So, what will he do?
The answer could lie in the second book Frank and I wrote together, Sixty Years A Fighter, which features an extraordinary hour-long conversation Tyson shared with Frank about their respective battles with mental ill health.
Speaking about his own demons, Tyson said: “I believe you can never get over mental ill health but you can learn to maintain it.
“There’s a song called Hotel California by the Eagles and in that song, he says ‘you can check out anytime you want but you can never leave’ and that’s the thing with mental ill health. You can get better but it is only a matter of time before you go back to where you were at the beginning.
Tyson Fury will learn, just like Frank Bruno did, that life outside of the ring is no walk in the park
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“Frank, when I’m finished with boxing, I’m going to try and find a cure for mental health problems.
“The thing with mental health problems is it doesn’t care who you are, if you are a King or a kid, it doesn’t matter. It can take you from your high horse to nothing. It grounds you though, it makes you appreciate the smaller things like sanity and being alive.
“I use training as a medicine. I don’t take pills or anything. I use training twice a day and sleep and do one day at a time.
“I don’t plan weeks or months in advance and just do today and get through it, then do the same again and keep releasing the serotonin into the brain. I don’t stress over anything that I can’t control anymore, whatever is happening if I’m going to get robbed, I just let it happen. I can’t control what the future is.”
What will the future hold for Tyson? Time will tell.
I just sincerely hope that whatever decision he makes next is the right one for him, his family, and his wellbeing.
Nick Owens is the co-author of Let Me Be Frank and Sixty Years A Fighter. To buy A Signed copy of Sixty Years A Fighter visit: https://www.frankbruno.co.uk/product/frank-bruno-60-years-fighter-new-2022