2026-04-07 10:30:33

Tyson Fury finds boxing “addictive”.

The Gypsy King makes his return to the ring against Russian fighter Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday (11.04.26) and admits that he ignored the pleas of his wife Paris in making a comeback – having announced his latest retirement from the sport in January 2025.

Speaking in the new series of Netflix’s At Home with the Furys, the former heavyweight world champion said: “Boxing is more addictive than drugs and alcohol.

“You can get away from drugs and alcohol, but you can’t get away from boxing. It takes over your life.

“I’ve been born and bred to do what I do. I’m a soldier who doesn’t know anything else other than to fight and die, and that’s it.”

Fury, 37, has dismissed suggestions that he is too old for a comeback as he explained that he is two years younger than two-time undisputed world champion Oleksandr Usyk and still thinks of himself as a “youngster”.

The fighter said: “I’m in the headspace where I don’t think I’m 37 – the same kind of thinking that I never remember that I’m bald. I think I’ve got curly hair, as a youngster.”

Fury also explained that the tragic death of his friend Ricky Hatton at the age of 46 last year was another major factor behind his comeback.

The former world champion – who has been open about his mental health problems – said: “Life is short, life is fragile. It’s definitely a wake-up call for me.

“Somebody I knew, somebody I admired, somebody I watched growing up, somebody who had been in my team, somebody who had been in my camp for a fair few fights… to think that person’s not there any more, it’s sad.

“I know Ricky Hatton had similar problems to me, so when I heard the news it was a bloody shock.

“Everybody thinks that being rich or famous would help them in their life or benefit them, but it’s not what they might think.

“The very few people who get there, they realise it wasn’t what it was supposed to be – and that the most important things in life are your health, fitness and the people you have around you.

“You hear these people dying, like celebrities, and you don’t really know them so it doesn’t affect you that much.

“But when it’s somebody who’s been close to you, it affects you a lot. It could have been me at any time.”

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