Obitelj Fury je irskog podrijetla. Majka Tysona Furyja je iz Belfasta u Sjevernoj Irskoj, a njegov otac iz okruga Galway u Republici Irskoj. Tyson Fury snažno se poistovjećuje s irskom baštinom, usprkos tome što je odrastao u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu, a možemo ga i citirati: „Ja sam Irac. Možda se nisam ovdje rodio, ali se tako osjećam."

Irski Putnici (Traveller) su tradicionalna nomadska zajednica. Uglavnom ih možemo naći u Irskoj, Velikoj Britaniji i Sjedinjenim Državama, ali smatra se da su irskog podrijetla. U Velikoj Britaniji i Irskoj prepoznati su kao nacionalna manjina. Putnici (Travellers) genetski nisu srodni s Romima, ali ih često nazivaju "Gypsies". To je pojam koji se u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu općenito prihvaća i koristi za samoidentificiranje. Samoidentificiranje je termin koji označava pravo pojedinca da odluči koji naziv želi da se koristi za njega ili nju, odnosno kako vide ili doživljavaju sami sebe.

Iako su Putnici (Traveller) tradicionalno nomadi, Fury ne živi nomadskim načinom života, ali ipak, ostaje vjeran svojim korijenima i ponosan je na svoju tradiciju. U intervjuu koji je dao za britanske novine ‘Independent’, 2011. godine, rekao je: "Ponosan sam na to što jesam. Reći ću vam što čini Putnika (Traveller): rođeni ste kao da ste crni. Za mene je nebitno da li živim u kući, kamp prikolici ili šatoru."

Tyson Fury u ringu koristi ime “Gypsy King”, a često je viđen i s pojasom koji to označava. Tvrdi kako mu je njegovo podrijetlo omogućilo postati uspješnim boksačem. U jednom intervjuu iz 2011. godine izjavio je kako mu se sviđa "osjećaj biti Gypsy." Korijeni Putnika (Travellers) daju mu čeličnu volju, odlučnost i želju za pobjedom." Tyson Fury dolazi iz obitelji koja ima preko 200 godina dugu boksačku tradiciju. Značajno je i da se njegov otac, John Fury, također natjecao kao profesionalni boksač.

Fury čvrsto brani svoju baštinu ‘Putnika’ i oštro osuđuje tendenciju trivijalizacije i diskriminacije svoje zajednice u Velikoj Britaniji. Također govori o tome kako se mora suočiti s diskriminacijom i predrasudama zbog svog podrijetla, a u jednom intervjuu je rekao kako ga to motivira da bude još bolji i dokaže onima koji ga kritiziraju da nisu u pravu, te kako bi takve ljude „svaki put kad pobijedi više boljelo.”

Furyjeva pobjeda 22. veljače nije bila njegova prva pobjeda: profesionalni boksaš prestao je 2008. godine kada mu je bilo 20 godina, nakon što je već pobijedio na mnogim amaterskim natjecanjima. Kao profesionalni boksaš sudjelovao je u 31 borbi, izgubivši samo jednu. Tokom svoje profesionalne karijere osvojio je mnoge titule, poput prvaka Velike Britanije i Commonwealtha u teškoj kategoriji, titule prvaka Engleske i Irske u teškoj kategoriji i više titula Svjetske boksačke organizacije (WBO). Jedna od najvažnijih Furyevih pobjeda bila je borba u studenom 2015. protiv ukrajinskog boksera Vladimira Klička. Međutim, 10 dana nakon ove pobjede, oduzeta mu je za titulu zbog problema s ugovorom.

Jednu od svojih najtežih borbi vodio je izvan ringa. Ta borba odnosila se na njegov problem s mentalnim zdravljem što je uključivalo depresiju, ovisnost o drogama i alkoholizam. To je dijelom povezano s tim kako se, nakon što je ostvario životni cilj i postao svjetski prvak u teškoj kategoriji, osjetio izgubljenim. Britanska antidoping agencija 2016. godine optužila ga je za korištenje nedozvoljenih sredstava, budući da je njegov doping test bio pozitivan, međutim, Fury je uvijek tvrdio kako je nevin. Furiju su nakon toga oduzete sve titule koje je osvojio kao boksač teške kategorije.

Zahvaljujući pomoći liječnika i savjetnika, nadvladao je probleme mentalnog zdravlja, a 2018. godine ponovno je mogao podnijeti zahtjev za boksačku dozvolu. Sportska suspenzija opozvana je u prosincu 2017. godine. Otkad se počeo boriti ponovo, postao je zagovornik brige o mentalnom zdravlju, donirajući 9 milijuna dolara zarađenih u svojoj prvoj borbi protiv Deontay Wildera beskućnicima i dobrotvornim udrugama za mentalno zdravlje.

Nakon ždrijeba 2018. godine, 22. veljače 2020. godine i meča u sedmom kolu, Tyson Fury je u Las Vegasu pobijedio petogodišnjeg prvaka teške kategorije u boksu, Deontaya Wildera, i postao novi prvak. Ovo je bila više od pobjede. Bio je to i vrlo simboličan trenutak za Furyja i njegove obožavatelje, jer je uspio svladati osobne i profesionalne prepreke i uspio izići jači.

 

 

On the 22nd February 2019, boxer Tyson Fury became the new World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight world champion after winning a fight against Deontay Wilder, who had been world champion for 5 years. Fury, known as the Gypsy King, is of Irish Traveller origin, and defines himself as a Gypsy. Having overcome many obstacles over the past few years, this victory represents a personal and a professional accomplishment for the boxer.

 

The Fury family are of Gaelic origin, with Tyson Fury’s mother coming from Belfast and his father from County Galway. Tyson Fury strongly identifies with his Irish heritage despite having grown up in the United Kingdom – we can quote: “I’m Irish. I may not have been born here but it is what I feel.”

Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic community, they can generally be found in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, but are considered to be of Irish origin. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, they are recognised as an ethnic minority. They are not genetically related to Roma people, but are often referred to as “Gypsies”. This is a term which in the United Kingdom is generally accepted and used as a self-identifier. A self-identifier is a term used to define how you see yourself.

Despite Travellers being traditionally itinerant, Fury doesn’t follow a nomadic lifestyle. He however remains loyal to his roots and proud of his traditions. During an interview in 2011 with the British newspaper Independent, he said “I'm proud of what I am, I'll tell you what makes a Traveller: you're born one like you're born black. To me it is irrelevant whether I live in a house, a caravan or a tent.”.

Tyson Fury’s fighting name is the Gypsy King, and he is often seen with a belt indicating this. He claims that his background which has enabled him to become the boxer he is. Again, in an interview in 2011, he said that he likes “the feel of being a Gypsy. The Traveller background gives [him] that ultimate fighting steel, the determination and will to win, to dig deep.” Indeed, Tyson Fury comes from a family who have over 200 years of boxing history. Notably, his father John Fury also competed as a professional boxer.

Fury firmly defends his Traveller heritage, and strongly denounces the tendency to trivialise anti-Gypsy discrimination in the United Kingdom. He also talks about having to face discrimination and prejudice because of his background, but in an interview said that it motivates him to do even better in order to prove his critics wrong and that “every time [he wins], it hurts them more inside”.

Fury’s victory on the 22nd wasn’t his first: he became a professional boxer in 2008 when he was 20 years old, having already won many amateur competitions. As a professional, he has fought 31 fights, and has won 30 of them.  He won many titles during his professional career, such as British and Commonwealth heavyweight championships, English and Irish heavyweight titles and multiple World Boxing Organisation (WBO) titles. One of Fury’s most prominent wins was a fight in November 2015 against Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko. But, 10 days after this victory, he was stripped of his title due to a contract issue.

However, one of his toughest fights was in fact outside the ring, and this was overcoming his mental health issues such as depression, drug addiction and alcoholism. He in part puts this down to feeling lost, after having achieved his lifelong goal of becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. In 2016, the UK Anti-Doping agency charged him positive for drugs, despite Fury always maintaining his innocence, and he came to the difficult decision to vacate his heavyweight titles.

Thanks to help from doctors and councillors, he overcame his issues with mental health, and in 2018 he was able to re-apply for his boxing licence, his suspension from the sport having been revoked in December 2017. Since having started fighting again, he has also become an advocate for good mental health, having for example donated $9 million from his first fight against Deontay Wilder to homeless and mental health charities.

On the 22nd February 2020, after a draw in 2018 and a seven-round match, Tyson Fury defeated five-year long WBC champion Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas, making Fury the new champion. This was more than just a victory; it was also a very symbolic moment for Fury and his fans, he has managed to overcome personal and professional obstacles, and has come out stronger.