Former world champion boxer Tyson Fury has revealed how close he came to committing suicide during his long battle with mental health problems.
The 31-year-old was crowned world heavyweight champion in 2015 when he beat Wladimir Klitschko in Germany before his life spiralled out of control.
Fury fell into depression and battled alcohol and drugs problems which culminated in an aborted suicide attempt before he turned his life around.
In an ITV documentary to be shown next week, he reveals: “One day I woke up and thought ‘today’s the day I end it all’.
“I was heading towards this bridge, I was going to smash the car into the bridge at very high speed, I just didn’t have the ambition to live anymore.
“Before I got to the bridge I heard a voice saying ‘don’t do this, you’re going to destroy your family’s life’ and I immediately pulled the car over and that was the first time I thought, ‘right, now or never. I need to get well immediately.’”
In the months that followed, Fury sought help from psychiatric experts and then embarked on a weight loss programme after ballooning to 28 stone.
Fury shed an incredible nine stone in less than two years before making his comeback to the boxing ring in 2018 against the little known Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta.
After two underwhelming performances Fury shocked the boxing world by taking on undefeated WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder in December 2018.
That fight ended in a draw, with Fury surviving two knockdowns, including an incredible 11th minute blow, which saw him beat the count and climb back off the canvas.
Ahead of facing “the Bronze Bomber” later this month, Fury insists he isn’t completely over his mental health woes but now knows how to combat them.
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