Tyson Fury Vacates Heavyweight Titles

He tested positive for cocaine twice and admitted to taking the substance to combat depression. Now, 28-year-old Tyson Fury is no longer a world heavyweight champion. The Briton fighter vacated his belts Wednesday.

Fury (25-0, 18 KO’s) has not fought since beating former world champion Wladimir Klitschko in a shockingly one-sided affair in November 2015. However, he has since withdrawn from two scheduled rematches.

“I feel that it is only fair and right and for the good of boxing to keep the titles active and allow the other contenders to fight for the vacant belts that I proudly won and held as the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world when I defeated the long-standing champion, Wladimir Klitschko,” Fury said in a statement obtained from ESPN.com.

“I won the titles in the ring, and I believe they should be lost in the ring, but I’m unable to defend at this time and I have taken the hard and emotional decision to now officially vacate my treasured world titles and wish the next-in-line contenders all the very best as I now enter another big challenge in my life, which I know, like against Klitschko, I will conquer,” Fury added.

Fury did not have much of a choice because the sanctioning bodies were likely going to strip the titles from him regardless. Moreover, Fury could be disciplined by the British Boxing Board of Control for the positive tests.

Meanwhile, Klitschko, who has been out for a year waiting to rematch Fury, could face off against IBF World heavyweight Anthony Joshua (17-0, 17 KO’s), of England. That belt was stripped from Fury less than two weeks after he beat Klitschko because Klitschko chose to exercise his rematch clause, which didn’t permit Fury to fight IBF mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov. Glazkov wound up losing via third-round TKO to Charles Martin after tearing his ACL, dislocating his knee, tearing his medial meniscus, and spraining his MCL and LCL. Martin’s reign as the champion did not last long as Joshua, an Olympic gold medalist, stopped Martin inside the second round.

-Ryan O’Hara/ @OharaSports