“THE worst year of my life” was how boxer and former Love Islander Tommy Fury, 11-0 (4 KOs), described the period leading up to his recent boxing comeback. A hand injury, a very public breakup and ultimately, alcoholism, are just some of the battles outside of the ring that the British cruiserweight had to contend with during that period.
But now, Fury insists that he is back, looking forward to the release of his new BBC Three documentary, The Good. The Bad. The Fury, and ready to work towards his goal, to “challenge for a world title”.
Back in 2019, following his stint on our TV screens, Tommy took what seemed like an unassuming fight at The Copper Box Arena in Hackney. Anyone in the boxing world would be forgiven for forgetting the fight or its happenings. First-round knockout, record extended to 3-0 and all round a job well done. But all wasn’t as perfect as it seemed.
“I can still remember it to this day. It was just the worst pain ever.
“I threw a right hand, and I knew I’d done something wrong, but I didn’t know it was going to be to this extent. The doctor told me in 2019, a week after the fight, that I needed that surgery then. But I put that surgery off for years.
“All those years, I fought through that pain with a bad hand. Cortisones after cortisones, numbing my hand, training for fights one-handed, sparring one-handed, and fighting one-handed in some cases. Just fighting through pain because I didn’t want to take that time off.”
Your hands, as a boxer, are your most precious tools. Tommy eventually succumbed and got the hand surgery required in 2024. Recovery from the hand surgery meant that this workman’s most vital piece of equipment was in a cast, putting a halt to training of any form.
Boxing is often lauded for its ability to keep people on the straight and narrow, and like any crutch for people, taking that away can sometimes be too difficult to adjust to. As was the case for the now 26-year-old.
“I think before this (the injury), I drank like a normal young person would. I went out sometimes and I’d have a drink.
“Boxing was always the thing that stopped me drinking.
“Because I’m very professional – when I’ve got a fight coming up, I don’t eat one single bit of something that I shouldn’t be eating.
“I think there was always something there. And then the fact that I couldn’t box, I didn’t have anything else, so I thought, well, there’s no need to stop.
“I can sit at the bar and I can drink, and drinking was the only thing that brought happiness to me at that point. Because it just made me forget about my hand. And it made me forget about the year ahead.”
Many boxing fans will naturally be drawing comparisons to Tommy’s half-brother, Tyson, who took his own extensive period away from the sport after a difficult period between 2015 and 2018. And with Tommy now aged 26, the very same age that Tyson was when defeating Wladimir Klitschko, the similarities of the situations are not lost on Tommy.
Fast forward back to the present day, and with a comeback shakedown against Bosnian heavyweight Kenan Hanjalic in Budapest ticked off, ‘TNT’ is keen to forge his own path.
In reference to his documentary title, The Good. The Bad. The Fury, he insists he’s a ‘Fury’ by birth, a ‘Good’ man by heart, and that the ‘Bad’ is now all behind him.
Despite this, and talks of future world title dreams, the Manchester native will be seeking opportunities in the ring that make sense both commercially and financially, as opposed to a more traditional journeyman, bigger tests and eventual titles route.
Tommy references his daughter, Bambi, as the sole motivation for what he does. “Everything is for her”.
“We’re in the sport of prizefighting. I’m not going to go to York Hall and fight for whatever when I can fight someone else for a set amount.
“I can tell you what, though, the next year there is going to be some very big fights (for me).
“Some very big build-ups, and maybe a rematch or two.”
Watch ‘Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury.’ on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three on Tuesday, August 19.
