Gloves Off: Tyson Fury Autobiography

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In the process, Tyson discusses his mental health and weight battles, his faith and his greatest boxing experiences. He discloses deeply moving new stories: in the weeks before the biggest fight of his career, Tyson was sleeping on a hospital floor in intensive care tending to his baby daughter, Athena, who was born premature and fighting for her life. At 6’9 and 270 lbs, you would expect the man to be a lumbering, mumbling, heavy-handed Sasquatch. But, watching him fight you would think he was a welterweight with his spry movement across the ring, smooth jab and ability to switch stances without giving his opponent the nod. And listening to him speak you would think he is a world class entertainer, whether it is rushing into a press conference dressed as batman, getting carried to the ring on a throne or serenading an audience after a win. I especially liked hearing of his Irish and Traveller roots and what he liked and disliked in the Traveller community. Which leads us to the retirement question. Fury writes perceptively of past fighters who have hung on too long, always promising themselves that it will be after the next fight, and then the next one after that, that they will hang up their gloves. By the end of the book, as he surveys the potential contenders, he appears indistinguishable from all those predecessors who didn’t know when to say goodbye. Can he walk away from the spotlight, the discipline and the glory? What will come afterwards, just living at home with his beloved wife, Paris, and their six children? He says he’ll be happy to walk the dogs. In the meantime, he’ll be fighting British heavyweight Derek Chisora (for the third time) on Saturday 3 December. The dogs, it seems, can wait. I love that he dedicates so much to his wife Paris and their marriage is to be admired as they’ve gone through a huge amount in a short space of time. It would have been nice to have had a bit more about them, but ultimately, it is a boxing book and it serves that purpose excellently - the preparation and training involved, his showmanship and self-belief and he breaks down his thought processes during his fights really well.

Sometimes, the whole “Gypsy King” showman drama – being carried to the ring on a throne in one of the Wilder fights – may occlude Fury’s genuinely impressive achievements in the ring. The man himself says it’s just an act, designed to maximise attention and therefore viewers and profit. Perhaps, but this is a guy who refers to himself in the third person and it’s just possible that the act has taken up more permanent residence in his personality. Larger than life is all very well for the length of a boxing promotion, but it can soon become tiring in life.Past few months for me were a little tough both from the personal and professional angle and I was feeling the brunt of the same. I wasn't sure whether what I was going through was a phase of melancholy or full fledged depression but whatever it was, I knew it was eating me alive and I needed to think of ways to move on from this feeling and be cheerful again. A truly great book. I always make how good an autobiography is if I feel I become a bigger fan of the person after I finished the book than I was when I started the book. In the case of this book, I was that was done by the time I finished the introduction. That is when I came across Tyson Fury's struggle with depression. You always expect people in the sports or entertainment field to be super secure about their lives and be happy. However, what we fail to understand is that no matter how rich or poor you are, how successful or unsuccessful you are, depression can hit you at any point in your life and is something which needs to be taken seriously. In a world, where people (especially men) are suppose to just brush things aside and move on with life, reading this heartfelt tale of depression from one of the best boxers in the world was very refreshing. This book was a great bend of fun and misery with Tyson going into detail of some of his antics he has carried out during his time in boxing and at times it lead me to laughing to myself reminiscing on his funny moments( the Batman costume is my personal favourite and also the sauna battle with Wlad). Fury notes that growing up he was a quiet lad by nature and that he almost created this larger than life character to gain more mainstream media to help progress his career which is common in boxing as people need to care to come see you. All of that is here in his own words. What is left out are the contradictions of the man, the stories that change over time and any serious attempt to clear the air regarding accusations for the use of the substance Nandrolone. Which spurred his hiatus from the ring.

Outside of the ring, Tyson Fury is a mental health ambassador. He donated his million-dollar purse from the Deontay Wilder fight to the homeless. So, I decided to dive into the world of Tyson Fury's autobiography, "Gloves Off." Now, let's be clear, I'm about as intimidating as a fluffy bunny, so I thought, "Why not get a taste of the boxing champion's life without actually taking any punches?"I wish to thank Ad Lib Publishers for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. He goes on to Tyson's family life, his beliefs, his failures, his successes, and his will to keep in fighting. The best and most used manifestation of this is his seeming return from the dead raise in the 12th round against arguably the hardest hitter currently in the heavyweight division. He showed not only his battles within the ring but outside of it too. Such honesty about Mental Health is desperately needed in todays world and hearing it from the heavy weight champion of the world is sure to help rid the stigma surrounding it. Especially the need to talk it about which Tyson echoes in his book. This empowerment is so influential and helpful for so many people old or young.

His story detailing his humble upbringings right from his birth was a welcome read, drawing me into the life of the Gypsy King. He moved from each part of his life beautifully and ensured everything flowed well. Tyson’s book was crammed with knowledge, care and honesty from his wins with Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder to his personal life and of course Mental Health. The book doesn't delve too deeply into any one topic, especially Tyson's personal life. After starting off with his win over Deonte Wilder to recapture the heavyweight title in February 2020, the reader will learn a little about Fury's upbringing, his rise in boxing in the British and Irish theatres and his eventual success in obtaining the title. Along the way, Fury had many ups and downs. Some of these were unforeseen circumstances, some of them were of his own making. These are not covered in depth throughout the book, simply captured in the text. Having little knowledge about Fury or his career, I was hoping for a deeper dive into his career and his life, but this was a decent introduction to the man. Readers who have followed his career closely or are passionate boxing fans of the current state of the sport will most likely know all of this information already. Now, Tyson Fury's life is like a rollercoaster on steroids. From rising through the ranks to battling personal demons, it's a whirlwind. But the way he tells it, it's like he's recounting a wild night out with the lads. I can almost hear him saying, "And then I fought Klitschko, mate, and it was like, 'Whoa, what's happening?'" It's storytelling at its most entertaining. This is not about Usyk or any other boxers. It's about me and him doing combat and there is no more to it. All these boxers, they had their chances over the last nine months to do a deal with me, they didn't so we've moved on and took a real man who is willing to challenge himself," Fury said.Behind the Mask is an unflinching autobiography from the greatest boxer of our time and a man who has demonstrated strength of a very different kind by conquering his demons. Like all the greatest stories, though, there is redemption and Tyson defies all the odds and literally drags himself to his feet. 10 million people around the globe watched Fury fight Wilder in the biggest fight of the boxing calendar. Speaking candidly about his struggles with mental health, this is Tyson Fury as you have never seen him before. This could have been a great opportunity to clear the air. It seems the story of his hiatus and return seems to be so compelling that the public does not want to ask the hard questions and Fury seems to be in no rush to answer. His most famous victory came in 2015, when he stunned longtime champion Wladimir Klitschko. Fury won the WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO world heavyweight titles.