Tyson Fury-On top of the world but down in the dumps

The current reigning, undefeated, lineal heavyweight world boxing champion is going through a very difficult patch in his life at the moment. The British fighter with Irish Gypsy blood coarsing through his veins could do with some of the Irish luck in his life right about now. Fury has often courted controversy but he is a fighter competing in an age different from past heavyweight greats. Heavyweight boxers always had to contend with the corruption in the sport. The so-called professional media looking to inflict knocks that a fighters opponents couldn't. In the case of Tyson Fury, he's had this to contend with as well as a relatively new phenomenon in the history of the sport. In days gone by any interaction between fans and fighters were often cordial. I'm not referring to the cauldron of emotion that grips fans of the sport on fight night That's as old as the game itself..but fighters are trained to block out that noise and concentrate on their opponents on fight night. The problems fury has had to contend with is every tom, dick & harry having an opinion in today's age. Fury with his travelling heritage has always been the subject of abuse and bigotted opinions. Billy Joe Saunders has suffered similar abuse. BJS was good enough to represent his country as an olympian and put his health at risk for national glory, yet in the eyes and views of some people( not fit to carry his spit bucket )he's not good enough as a world champion. This stems from an ingrained accepted racism within the UK. It's an English thing, the little islander trying to put the world to rights. The Irish, Scottish and Welsh have a far more favourable opinion of Fury than the country he was born in. Even the American audience show more appreciation for Fury than the English display Perhaps it's because we're aware of how the English are and how they've been throughout history towards their own. From George Best(Irish but famed in England),Gascoigne, Hatton, Frank Bruno and there are plenty, plenty more. The English can't resist the temptation to put the proverbial boot in when a sportsman is down on his luck. These media outlets have been happy to sell papers at any cost often disregarding any human traits such as decency. This has had a ripple effect on many fans in the sport where they now think it's fair game to follow suit. Tyson Fury from the moment he's burst into the scenes has been a breath of fresh air. He tore up the script & what you see is what you get with him. He's a true fighting man. A giant of a man that hails from a family of fighters going back hundred's of years. The travelling community have an old school and honourable way of dealing with problems. They fight! They fight to settle their differences and afterwards they shake hands. If that isn't the epitome of respect and fair play then what is? Unfortunately we are in the age where little men have big voices, courtesy of the anonymity afforded to them via their PC, tablet or mobile. These parasites look to sap the strength of great men in an attempt to make themselves appear larger than they are. I'm a child of the 80s and like those born before me we grew up in different times. Back then if you ran your mouth you'd have to face the consequences. If you weren't prepared to face this consequences then you'd keep quiet or suffer a painful leson in respect. These days there are far too many individuals that haven't had that education. They believe their right to free speech is a right to offend. React to their vicious outbursts full of bile and suddenly you're over reacting. Cries of it was only banter or its just a joke fall on deaf ears for those of us that lived & learned in a different era. We see it for what it is. Weak individuals taking advantage of anonymity. These so called banter and jokes wouldn't be uttered in the presence of Tyson Fury & that should tell you something. If they're not brave enough to say it to a fighter in person then why should you respect their antagonistic attitude in any other form. Tyson Fury isn't a politician, he isn't a robot nor manufactured paper fighter. He's real & as such he suffers highs and lows that affect real people. It's similar to asking the opinion of the average voter in the UK. The average voter will be far more honest, descriptive in their opinions. Most will talk from experience and from the heart. A politician talks from a script. Tyson Fury is your guy on the street albeit the heavyweight champion of the world. He's not scripted nor is he manufactured. He's real. He's said things that may offend some but truth be told most is taken out of context to create controversy. This website shows this on a regular basis where they will break a single interview into segments. It's done to gain the maximum out of a minimum. We've all read headlines that end up contradicting themselves when the whole picture emerges. But don't let that stop you from capitalising on an opportunity. Integrity is a word rarely used in this sport yet we are dealing with fighters who are are an integral part of the sport. Take away the fighters and what do you have? Writers and opinionated non sportsman. I wouldn't take football tips from a guy that couldn't kick a ball yet we put weight in the opinion of others who are an absolute state in real life. Look at Dan Rafael, the closest he'd come to any type of boxing is opening 5 bigmac containers. Yet the men in suits think he's an acceptable mouthpiece, that says a lot about how the corporate types view regular fans such as yourself. I've said it before but I'll repeat it here. Boxing is a strange sport. Most tennis fans will have played tennis or held a racquet. Most football fans will have kicked a ball. These fans don't have to be world beaters but they have an understanding of the skill, talent and dedication of the athletes in the sport they support. Boxing is different, you'd be overestimating if you put it at 5% of the fans that have ever stepped into a boxing gym and laced them up...never mind competing on the highest stage in the professional ranks. Fury is currently suffering outside of the squared circle. Hes now in the fight of his life and is at far more risk than the former undisputed, long reigning champ Klitschko ever presented him with. He's spoken of his struggles with his mental health in the past. Rather than get behind this man and support him, far too many faceless individuals have opted to lay the boot in with abusive comments. What Fury needs is what any of us would need if we were going through the same. He needs time & support to get back on his feet and dust himself off. You wouldn't mock a guy trying to stand on a broken leg, yet mental health still caries stigma. Look at the support the transgendered Frank Maloney has received. This is a man who campaigned against gays, lesbian and trsnsgendered people. Now known as Kelleie all is forgiven? It's a shame Maloney can't resist getting a dig in against Fury but remember the history. Maloney sold David Price out for his own interests, the only concern he had for Fury was making money off of his back. When the chips were down Maloney suffered a mental breakdown & emerged wearing female clothes. If you are a fan of this sport then you need to offer your support to fury, much like you'd appreciate the same treatment if you found yourself in his extra large shoes. If you choose to kick a man when he's down then you're not entertaining anyone, you're showing a glimpse of who you are as person and how little your parents or guardians taught you in decency and empathy. I for one support Tyson Fury and wish the proud father nothing but the best. I believe this site has a duty to support him too...