WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has claimed that he 'doesn't want to live anymore' and revealed that he has been battling depression in recent months.
Fury's behaviour has become increasingly erratic since he became champion by beating Wladimir Klitschko last year, twice pulling out of a rematch, most recently because he was declared "medically unfit".
The 28-year-old also performed a U-turn on Twitter just hours after announcing that he had retired from the sport, while he seemed to confirm reports that he had tested positive for cocaine last week.
"Listen, I've done a lot of things in my life. I've done lots of cocaine. Lots of it. Why shouldn't I take cocaine? It's my life isn't it? I can do what I want. Yeah, I have done cocaine. Plenty of people have done cocaine as well. I've not been in a gym for months. I've not been training. I've been going through depression. I just don't want to live any more, if you know what I'm saying. I've had total enough of it," he said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
"They've forced me to the breaking edge. Never mind cocaine. I just didn't care. I don't want to live any more. So cocaine is a little minor thing compared to not wanting to live any more. I never took other drugs, ever, in my life. I only started to take cocaine in the last few months. It's been nothing more than a witch hunt. From (the Klitschko fight) on, they've tried to get me chucked out of boxing because they cannot tame me, they cannot hire me, I'm not for sale, no one can turn a key in my back, no one can do nothing to stop me.
"So now they're saying I took some cocaine and whatever. Listen, if I had some smack I'd take it. If I had heroin I'd take that, never mind cocaine, for what they've done to me. It's a travesty what they've done. I'm in a very bad place at the moment. I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I don't know what's going to happen to me. I don't know if I'm going to see the year out, to be honest."
Fury has since appeared to ease concerns over his welfare, tweeting: "Good news is I'm getting the right help & I'll be back even stronger than before, try & stop me!!".
Barney Corkhill
