Tyson Fury is free to box again after eating contaminated boar testicles

Tyson Fury won five world heavyweight championship belts for his upset victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 — he has not boxed since.Reuters

• Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury has been cleared to fight after reaching a compromise with the UK Anti-Doping agency (UKAD).
• UKAD charged Fury with using a banned substance in 2016, something Fury excused on consuming boar testicles.
• The issue was resolved on Tuesday when Fury accepted a two-year ban backdated to December 2015.

Following a two-year exile from professional boxing, former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is free to fight again.

The self-proclaimed Gypsy King was charged by the UK Anti-Doping agency (UKAD) in June 2016 — just seven months after his victory over former heavyweight ruler Wladimir Klitschko — after testing positive for a banned substance.

Fury said the elevated levels of nandrolone metabolites in his system were the result of eating uncastrated wild boar, inclusive of entrails and testicles, which has a history of being contaminated with banned substances.

On Tuesday, Fury and UKAD reached a compromise deal, which backdates a two-year ban to December 2015 and effectively means he is free to resume his career, providing he reapplies for a boxing license.

A statement on the UKAD website said Fury “never knowingly or deliberately committed any anti-doping rule violation.”

“I’m a fighting man through and through and I’ve never backed down from anyone in my life and I was certainly not going to back down from fighting this dispute,” Fury added, as per a statement on his official promoter’s website Hennessy Sports.

“We’re happy that it has finally been settled with UKAD and that we can move forward knowing that we’ll not be labelled drug cheats. I can now put the nightmare of the last two years behind me, which has been particularly hard on my family.”

Fury was the first fighter to defeat Klitschko in 11 years.Getty Images

For his 12 round decision win over Klitschko in Germany two years ago, Fury won the IBF, WBA, WBO, and The Ring world heavyweight titles.

During his absence from the sport, the heavyweight championship landscape has fragmented. Fury’s British rival Anthony Joshua has the WBA and IBF titles, Joseph Parker has the WBO belt, and Deontay Wilder has the WBC title.

Fury has vowed to win his belts back next year. “Next year I will be back doing what I do best, better than ever, and ready to reclaim the world titles which are rightfully mine. It’s time to get the party started,” he said.