LONDON • Tyson Fury says that he wants to die, has not trained since May and has been taking cocaine and drinking heavily as he tries to cope with depression.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the world heavyweight boxing champion says he has been driven to breaking point and does not want to live any more.
"If I could take me own life - and I wasn't a Christian - I'd take it in a second," Fury said. "I just hope someone kills me before I kill myself. I'll have to spend eternity in hell."
He blames boxing and the treatment he has received since winning the world title last year for his present desperate state.
The 28-year-old failed a drug test for cocaine on Sept 22, the day before he pulled out of his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, claiming he was medically unfit. He now looks certain to be stripped of his World Boxing Organisation and World Boxing Association titles.
"I've done lots of cocaine. Lots of it," Fury said. "Why shouldn't I take cocaine? It's my life isn't it? Plenty of people have done cocaine. That ain't a performance-enhancing drug. Am I not allowed to have a life now as well?"
Fury, 28, claims that there has been a "witch hunt" against him, accusing the boxing authorities and even anti-doping agencies of conspiring against him.
"It's been a witch hunt ever since I won that world title," he said. "Ever since I got a bit of fame for doing good, there's been a witch hunt on me because of my background, because of who I am and what I do, there's hatred for travellers and gypsies around the world.
"I was a lot happier when I wasn't the world champion because people wasn't giving me as much s***. I've been pushed to the brink. I can't take no more.
"I'm in a hospital at the moment. I'm seeing psychiatrists. They say I've got a version of bipolar. I'm a manic depressive."
The recent postponement was the second time he had pulled out of the bout with Klitschko.
The first time was in June with an ankle injury, although Fury says that he has not trained since walking out of training camp in the Netherlands in May.
THE TIMES, LONDON, THE GUARDIAN
