Tyson Fury has admitted to using cocaine in the months following his world heavyweight championship victory over Wladimir Klitschko and says he is 'trying to shake off demons' that have impacted on his mental well-being.
In a revealing interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Fury spoke about his battle with depression and says he is making some progress on his recovery.
"I'm going through a lot of personal demons, trying to shake them off," he said. "This has got nothing to do with my fighting – what I'm going through right now is my personal life.
"They say I've got a version of bipolar. I'm a manic depressive. I just hope someone kills me before I kill myself."
Of his continued substance abuse after abandoning his training camp in May he says: "From that day forward, I've never done any training. I've been out, I've been drinking. I'm on the verge of becoming an alcoholic. I'm drinking Monday to Friday to Sunday. I can't, I can't deal with it, and the only thing that helps me is when I get drunk out of me mind and that's it. I don't tell lies, I've no need to tell lies. I've taken drugs, cocaine, on many many occasions for the last six months. Not to enhance my performance – cause I've not been performing.
"I've been out drinking, drugging, acting like a lunatic, being a fool. All to try and feel better in meself. But nothing can suffice my thirst no more, I'm finished. All the drugs and drink in the world ain't gonna make me happy no more. Nothing makes me happy anymore because I have gone past the point of happiness. There is no returning for me anymore. I am finished."
He goes on to talk about discrimination toward the Travelling Community of which he comes from: "It's been a witch hunt ever since I won that world title because of my background, because of who I am and what I do – there's hatred for Travelers and gypsies around the world."
Fury points out that the one thing that still makes him happy in life are his children: "You gotta feel better cause you look at pure innocence and feel good. They don't know what's going on. It's not their fault. Listen if I never had kids, I wouldn't be alive today, that's the truth."
You can read the full interview here.
