Tyson Fury compares his absence from ring to Muhammad Ali

Boxingnews24.com

By Marcus Richardson: Tyson Fury is lumping himself in the same situation as Muhammad Ali in talking about his absence from the ring for the last 2 years. Fury has been out of the ring since 2015 after having tested positive for cocaine, and his decision to reveal that he was having depression issues.

Fury, 29, is trying to get cleared with UK Anti-Doping to continue his boxing career. There’s a hearing in December, and it’s possible that Fury could be allowed to fight again.

On Wednesday, Fury compared his situation with that of boxing great Muhammad Ali, who was out of boxing for 3 ½ years during his career after failing to be inducted into the U.S armed forces after being drafted in the 1960s. Ali’s situation for his absence from the ring was entirely different from that of Fury.

“I am being kept out of the ring by political stuff — they did the same to Muhammad Ali,” said Fury in speaking on Periscope “Two years [I’ve been] out of the ring. They kept Ali out for three years and seven months. It didn’t affect him. He went down as the greatest.”

Ali didn’t let himself go physically during his long period out of the ring the way that Fury has. It was relatively easy for Ali to get himself back in shape and resume his pro career after he was allowed to return to boxing. In Fury’s case, he’s packed on a lot of weight, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to ever take the weight off to resume his career.

It’s interesting that Fury compares his completely different situation with that of Ali’s for being out of the ring. What Fury and Ali have in common was both guys were unbeaten when they were out of the ring for an extended period of time. That’s the only thing they have in common.

Fury took a shot at Tony Bellew, who he refers to as a bum. Fury appears to want to fight Bellew when he does make his comeback, and yet he’s critical of him for wanting to fight him. Fury has made it clear that he’s interested in fighting Bellew, so it’s difficult to understand why he would deride him for calling him out. If Fury wasn’t interested in fighting Bellew, he should have said that right away instead of talking about wanting to fight him.

“You’ve got some bums using my name to boost their name,” Fury said. “You’ve got Eddie Hearn supporting them. They are not good enough to tie my shoelaces. They’re not good enough to hold my jock strap. I’m working hard. I’m training hard, and everything is going good,” Fury said. “The weight is coming down, the money is rolling in,” said Fury.

If Fury doesn’t want to fight Bellew, then he should let him, and his promoter Eddie Hearn know about that, because both of them are under the impression that he wants to take the fight as soon as he comes back. It’s probably not a good idea for Fury to face a live body like Bellew in his first fight back from a 2-year absence from the ring. Fury would be better off fighting someone that isn’t a world class heavyweight, because he might have the stamina or the mobility to deal with a guy like Bellew right away.