If there was a reward for the most outrageous, prolific, and creative trash-talker in the sport of boxing, without contest, it would go to Tyson Fury, The Gypsy King! With a net worth of $30 million, Fury’s life story and career success have become synonymous with some of the greatest redemptive stories in history. So much so that after his third dominant victory over Deontay ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder, the Gypsy King was offered a part in the new Expendables movie by the original Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone. At age 33, the British heavyweight boxing champion is on a train of success that cannot be stopped.
A Born Fighter
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As we’ve already disclosed, the only other thing that hits harder than Fury’s fists is his arsenal of trash talk, which has bought added entertainment to fans and has helped to sell his fights by building tension with his opponents. In this way, he is masterful at raking in Pay-Per-View sales and selling out arenas. And it is this very skill that keeps him constantly sought after for entertainment opportunities. But before zoning in on his feats outside of the boxing arena, his turbulent journey to superstardom is worthy of special recognition.
Tyson Fury has been bestowed many nicknames, one for which he is most known, which is the ‘Gypsy King’, derived from the bare-knuckle prizefighting Gypsy family he was born into. His other names include The Undertaker and the Come Back King. His penchant for “Always delivering when the chips are down” isn’t a quality he developed over time. He was born with it. Literally! Taken from The Strive, Fury’s first success story came at birth, where he was born three months premature and weighing only 1 lb. He was one of the few survivors of a string of miscarriages by his mother, giving a testament to his innate fighting spirit. Even the doctors saw his chances of survival as slim to none. But his father saw greatness in him and gave his own prediction, stating that his son will one day be heavyweight champion of the world, and went as far as to name him Tyson, after the famous Mike Tyson. From 1 lb and three months premature, Fury would grow to a towering height of 6’5″ tall, an intimidating stature for any boxer.
Then, from the age of 10 years old, he began to show interest in boxing. He became disciplined in his training and went on to win the Bronze at the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships as an amateur at the age of 18, which became a testament to his boxing prowess when. He would take it further by winning the ABA super-heavyweight title just two years later. It started to become clear that Fury would go down among the greats in heavyweight boxing history.
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From Amateur To Pro-Boxer
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His first professional fight came in 2006 where he won by TKO in the first round. After a few more wins on his boxing resume, he earned the chance at a British heavyweight title against John McDermott, which he won unanimously. He went on to win a succession of fights before the title fight that garnered him worldwide acclaim, which was his 2015 heavyweight title against Wladimir Klitschko.
His victory over the Ukrainian heavy-hitter put him in the position of the new undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Fury would go on to hold the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and Lineal titles simultaneously. In addition, only two other legendary fighters besides Fury have held the Ring Magazine title twice, Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali. Not many other fighters in this era are categorized among such legends as these.
However, despite acquiring worldwide notoriety from the Klitschko fight, Fury soon became distracted and his life took a downward spiral into partying, alcohol, and drugs, leading him into a deep depression. He lost the zeal to train consistently and eventually blew up in weight to 400 lbs. He was also stripped of all the title belts he once held due to an inability to fight in a rematch clause with Klitschko. Depression and mental health would prove to be the Gypsy King’s toughest opponent yet.
After almost committing suicide, Fury finally found the courage to pick himself off the floor and get back in shape for what would be one of the biggest trilogy fights against Deontay Wilder in modern heavyweight boxing history. Their first fight in 2018 ended in a split decision draw, which led to a rematch in February 2020, ending with Fury taking home the win by 7th-round TKO. But because of cheating allegations, Fury was made to fight Wilder for the third time in 2021, in which he won by a dramatic TKO and made a resounding statement as the new heavyweight champion.
Other Passions And Ventures
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While boxing may be what he is best known for, it isn’t his sole means for building his $30 million fortune. In October 2019, Fury got a chance to take his persona as ‘The Undertaker’ seriously when he made a cameo appearance on a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fight against Braun Strowman at the WWE Crown Jewel. The heavyweight champion received a great deal of backlash due to the wrestling match being held in Saudi Arabia as the country is criticized for forbidding female superstars to participate in major events. Despite the chatter, Fury walked away with $15 million for that one fight that he won.
If ‘Profit From Pain’ was a person, it would be Tyson Fury. Not only did he prove his resilience and ability to bounce back from severe mental health issues, but he took his pain and turned it into a bestseller. That’s right! In 2019, Fury signed a book deal with Penguin Random House and released an autobiographical book entitled Behind The Mask. The book was a major success, even rising to the top of the Amazon list of Bestsellers in less than 48 hours of its release.
For all the success and the million-dollar empire the Comeback King has amassed, he is known to lead a fairly simple and modest lifestyle. It is reported that the boxer once disclosed to be comfortable living on $10,000 a year. He is also not as flashy as most other boxing athletes, which also speaks volumes about the depth of his character.
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Sources: The Strive, Manchester Evening News, BBC, Money Inc
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