Tommy Fury on Tyson, going back to boxing and life after Love Island

When the Tyson Fury roadshow pitched up in Las Vegas for the second time in three months last week, there were some who argued that the 6ft 9in 'Gypsy King' was not actually the most famous member of his fighting family to arrive in Sin City.

Little brother Tommy, who was barely known outside of hardcore boxing circles until earlier this year, was quite comfortably the most watched boxer in the world during the summer of 2019 and he did not even have a fight. Like it or not, he is probably the most recognisable active British boxer outside the heavyweight division right now.

His role in ITV2's impossibly popular reality TV programme Love Island transformed him from one of Tyson's brothers to one of the most in-demand British celebrities of the year. He now even has around three million followers on Instagram, 800,000 more than his elder brother, the former unified world heavyweight champion.

Before Fury, only 20, set foot on Majorca’s Love Island in the first week of June he was just a light heavyweight boxer who marked his debut by outpointing a 101-loss journeyman in November before stopping his second opponent four months later.

Instead of continuing on that path, the Ricky Hatton-trained fighter decided to engage in a bit of profile building instead. “My thought process was: I'm 20 years old and I need to roll the dice,” he says.

“Eight weeks in the sun with a load of pretty women, I thought that's not bad anyway, I'll get myself in there and just see what happens.

“But since coming out of there, life is just completely different from when I went in. Now everywhere you go people know your name and they want a picture. It's complete madness.”

But after what he describes as 'overnight fame' without sustaining so much as a bloody nose or a black eye, the question is whether Fury will continue the often thankless journey as a professional boxer or settle into life as a full-time celeb. He insists he has already made that decision.

“I could never imagine it would be like this when I came out and it's not something you can ever prepare for,” adds Fury, the youngest of six siblings in his family.

“In there, it's overnight fame, you're known everywhere in the space of two months. You go in, after two months you come out and it's like you're the newest member of The Beatles.

“But you're only in The Beatles for a couple of months until the next season starts so the main thing after coming out of Love Island is to do things to keep yourself relevant. In my case that means going back to boxing because it's something I love and something I've got a passion for.

“Boxing-wise we're in talks at the minute about a lot of different things and there are a lot of opportunities on the table. We've just got to see how everything goes really.”

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Given the profile of his eldest brother, there was already a degree of pressure on the man dubbed 'TNT' when he embarked on his own boxing career. But his performance in Love Island, where he was a runner-up alongside his partner Molly-Mae Hague, means he will be under intense scrutiny when he decides to get back in the ring later this year.

“I've always had pressure since I first put on a pair of gloves,” he admits. “When you're in and around the gyms people will always say: 'Let's watch that spar, that's Tyson's brother in there let's see what he's like'. I've always lived with that pressure and it doesn't mean anything to me.

“Tyson is Tyson, the best heavyweight on the planet and someone who will go down in history, I'm not trying to live up to anybody. I'm just blessed and thankful to be in the position I'm in.

“People might try to rush me now because of my profile but I still have a lot to learn about the game. That will happen because I've got my dad by my side and no decision will be made without him. He will always know where I'm at with my boxing, what fights I can take and what fights I should take. The right challenges for me to take and the challenges not to take.”

Tyson's gory 12-round victory over Otto Wallin in Vegas was just the latest of a long list of fights for which Tommy has been present. Even in the most famous Fury picture of all, when he's stoney-faced, holding the four world title belts ripped from Wladimir Klitschko a few moments earlier in Dusseldorf, a young Tommy can be seen over his right shoulder.

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The kid has been absorbing every minute of his time around his elder brother, which used to include training alongside and body sparring with the towering heavyweight on a site in Warrington. Now he believes that experience will dovetail perfectly with his new-found celebrity status.

“It can't work against me because now I could sell out the arenas by myself,” explains Fury, who is expected to make his return to the ring before the year is out.

“I've got three million followers now so it's not hard for me to sell things. But I can't let it go to my head and in training camp I can't start thinking 'I don't have to train hard because I can sell it out already'.

“I've got to train just like I always have. I'm a nobody because I class myself as a nobody now. Who am I? What have I done to become anybody?

“Tyson is the best heavyweight in the world, the best fighting man there is. That's some feat. But what have I ever done? I've been on a TV show for eight weeks – there's no comparison. Tyson inspires everybody and if I can be half as good as him then I'll be happy with that.

“I've got far more opportunities from a boxing perspective now. Before I went into Love Island, nobody cared. Even with my surname, I had done nothing as an amateur so nobody cared and I'm well aware of that.

“Now it's different because the following is there and I'm known quite a lot. Love Island has been a game changer for my boxing career but I just need to keep my feet on the ground and head screwed on."