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BBB of C Get Off Your Duffs & Rule Already on the Fate of Tyson Fury!

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

With the news this morning that Luis Ortiz shall be replaced by Bermane Stiverne boxing can finally say they deal with drugs issues quickly…

With how swiftly the issue of Big Daddy Lucas Browne, on both occasions, was dealt with again shows how serious the sport takes drug misuse…

Of course, as with Alexander Povetkin, there are always anomalies, exceptions that disprove the rule but he was at least allowed to continue to fight and provide for his family.

The issue of drugs in this sport are always taken seriously and more importantly dealt with in a swift and precise manner that allows people to box on and earn once the stench of the accusation has been dealt with if false, or a ban and subsequent sanctions are put in place if true.

Clearly.

Without exception.

Except…

If your name is Tyson Fury, 25-0, 18 KO’s.

Fury has not boxed since November 2015 when he did what other boxers over an 11 year period failed to do and beat Wladimir Klitschko. Nobody loved him for it except those people in the business who recognized how massive that task was and how much Fury deserved credit not just for getting in the ring and following the perfect game plan but for having a trainer, his own uncle Peter Fury, who had the game plan in the first place.

Of course, he did himself no favors as he made statements which were distasteful and illegal in equal measure. When he was up for the Sports Personality of the Year in the UK he showed some personality and unfortunately, despite the clue in the title, often the supreme sports personality award goes to the person with the least amount to give in that category. Fury was never a serious contender.

Then came the disclosure that he had tested positive for a banned substance BEFORE the Klitschko fight. If I were Luis Ortiz, I might be looking at this.

Fury went into rematch negotiations with Wladimir and it led to nothing as dates were suggested and over time it became clear that Fury was not well.

Just how not well began to trickle and then come in a flood of revelations and made us all sit up, take notice and see the bravery displayed in the ring, become a part of his battle outside of the four corners.

His antics as well as his statements did not always endear us to Tyson Fury but it made a lot of what was happening more understandable.

Fury’s issues with illegal and alleged use of banned substances have been compounded with his honest mental health revelations. In an age when people get credit for coming out and being honest about their struggles with depression and mental illness it would appear, at least from the outside, that this has not been a wholly positive experience for him.

This week, Fury has come out to say that he will not be applying for a boxing licence through the British Boxing Board of Control (BBB of C). This is mainly due, it would appear, to the reality that boxing is pretty crap at dealing with sorting things out.

His drugs “ban” – for that is what it amounts to – has lasted well over a year as the allegations, an investigation, a hearing that has not finished and any decision over any punishment is way past the point of being credible.
That Fury has called time on his waiting for them to come to a conclusion is far from funny.

In the UK, the BBB of C is the principle sanctioning body who have strong links with all of the bodies worldwide who would sanction any Fury comeback. To lose one of the Furys is hardly cause for panic but it does not serve well.

Fury could go to another sanctioning body like the British and Irish Boxing Association (BIBA) and get a licence. He could go to any of their affiliates in Europe and get a licence to fight. Would that bring him the type of fight he is likely to be after? No.
Would it reduce the credibility of the sport’s alleged ability to deal effectively and efficiently with those people who flout its laws, rules and processes? Yes.

Should it happen? Actually, maybe it should.

The Fury’s have claimed, along with the ridiculous scorecards in Tyson’s cousin, Hughie’s world title battle with Joseph Parker that there is a conspiracy against them because they are traveling folk.

In recent years we have become far more understanding and drawn towards the gyspy lifestyle that Fury and his family enjoy. We have seen their wholesome Christian ethics on our television screens alongside their less than wholesome political and personal views.

We do not share them – I certainly do not – but I am a Democrat and they have the right to hold them. As people are beginning to challenge more often the underlying racism that may not be apparent but IS there, this may be a defense, which IS being mounted by the Furys, that if the BBB of C does not act quickly (for once) then the allegation is founded, by default.

The question that needs to be answered is why is it so difficult to deal with Fury?

It was not with Ortiz, or Povetkin or Browne…

So, BBB of C…

Time for action and bring this farce to an end, a conclusion and let the guy get on with it. Now. Come On…

Let’s Go Champ!

Oh no… wait a minute…

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