TYSON FURY feared he was going to have a heart attack because of drugs, junk food and alcohol during his darker days.
The Gypsy King ballooned up to 28 stone when his career went off the rails after the win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
But the 32-year-old had an epiphany while in the pub on Halloween which led him to turn his life around.
Speaking in his new book ‘The Furious Method’, as revealed by The Mirror, Fury has revealed he was left feeling suicidal as he battled against depression, drug and alcohol abuse.
He writes: “Within a month of being crowned world heavyweight champ I was an emotional wreck, on my way to a heart attack thanks to Class A drugs, junk food and alcohol.
“I had my epiphany in a pub on Halloween night in 2017, hopelessly overweight and humiliated, wearing a badly fitting skeleton outfit that was skin-tight and emphasised my full 28st.
“Although I’d started training again, I was still drinking and going on benders and making life a misery for my wife, my children and those closest to me.
“Looking around the pub at people half my age I felt like a disgrace and I knew things had to change.
“I left the pub early and later that night I stood in my bedroom in my underpants, fell on my knees and cried out to God to help me.
“Tears were running down my face. When I got back up, I knew the comeback was on because I was finally asking for God’s help and being
honest that I had a serious problem.
View this post on InstagramThe Gypsy King here bringing you the first piece of advice from my new book #TheFuriousMethod, out in a week! Pre-order from Amazon or get your signed copy from Waterstones. Links in bio
“My mental health and marriage were both hanging by a thread. Everything I previously despised – including drugs – I now did. That’s how much I had come to loathe myself.
“Until then I’d never taken my eyes off being a decent father to my kids, nor had I taken cocaine. And yet here I was keeping the cartels of Colombia afloat while also trying to drink myself into a very early grave.
“I appreciate not everyone will share the same desire to get into the ring and knock ten bells out of someone. But I believe the building blocks of my successful comeback can be useful for anyone.
“I look like an average Joe – bald and a bit fat around the midriff. In the depths of my depression I was suicidal.
“But thanks to support from my family and friends, and by seeking professional help and focusing on a positive outlook on life, I got healthy in body and mind.
“The quality of our thinking informs everything we do, from the moment we get up in the morning to whether we get up at all.
“Being a fat, lazy bum with millions in the bank is no way to live.
“But being hungry, fit and really alive in the middle of life’s journey – now that’s worth fighting for!
“Every morning as I look out from the balcony of our house at the nearby sea, I count my blessings.
“They say your life is a reflection of what you hold inside of you. And these days I’m glad to say it is light not darkness. Exercise, positivity, being in a happy environment and hitting goals are my remedy to depression.
“And they’ve made me a sunnier, more enthusiastic person in all my roles – as a dad, a husband, a son and a brother.
“Up until I began training for the first Deontay Wilder fight I was drinking 20 to 30 cans of Diet Coke per day. It sounds ridiculous but I loved it. Now I know better – it’s up to us to educate ourselves.
“My mental health is directly linked to exercising and Kristian’s helped me with both. So I’ll finish with three takeaways from Old Baldy Head for a healthy life.”
Fury claimed he once came within seconds of killing himself after driving his Ferrari at 190mph towards a bridge as he ‘wanted to die so bad’.
But the 32-year-old managed to pull off one of sports greatest ever comebacks as he returned to the ring in 2018 when he fought Sefer Seferi.
The Gypsy King has now battled his way back to the top of the heavyweight division after he dethroned WBC king Deontay Wilder in February.
Fury is now ‘patiently waiting’ to learn who will be taking on next.
He looks braced to scrap European champ Agit Kabayel next month in what will be his first fight in England since his comeback bout in June 2018.
