‘Tyson Fury isn’t any thug he is a hero, however I will not push boxing legend to battle on’

I will not be picking up the phone and asking Tyson Fury to fight again.

If opportunities come my way for him they will be passed on, but there will be no advice from me on whether or not Tyson should take them. I haven’t spoken to him yet about an Anthony Joshua fight and I will only do so if he comes to me and says he wants to get in the ring with him.

My only hope is for Tyson to be happy and content with life. If he is then I’d be prouder than you can ever imagine. If he does decide to box again then I’ll support him 100%. It’s a decision for him, his wife Paris and their family.

Tyson has just gone toe-to-toe in two extremely close fights with Oleksandr Usyk. They are the two best heavyweights of this generation. So losing – even though I and others still believe he won – takes absolutely nothing away from his legacy.

Tyson will go down as one of the best British heavyweights of all time if he retires tomorrow. Who can argue against that? I’d have loved to have seen him fight Lennox Lewis.

I’m a huge admirer of Lewis but Tyson would have had what it takes. The two men who beat Lewis are Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman – are you telling me that Tyson wouldn’t beat them? That’s all hypothetical but you cannot debate the bravery of Tyson.

Has there been a braver British heavyweight? This is a man who came back from the depths of despair and took on feared puncher Deontay Wilder THREE times. And but for a nonsense draw decision, he would have three wins over him.

He beat Wladimir Klitschko when nobody gave him a chance and comfortably saw off other heavyweight contenders. It is why it pains me to see he is not more loved by some.

Tyson is someone who has stood up and become a role model for those who suffer from mental health problems and addiction to show you can turn your life around. To see him called a “thug” by a newspaper columnist before the Usyk fight absolutely sickened me. It was a disgrace.

The definition of a thug is “violent, aggressive person, especially one who is a criminal”. Tyson is none of those things, outside of the ring. He’s never been convicted of a crime.

Has he said some things over the years that are distasteful and wrong? Yes, of course. Do I like what he says all the time? No. But do people forget that he is bipolar?

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Have you ever looked up the definition of that on the NHS website? I know all too well the damage mental health problems can do.

My late brother Mark suffered from schizophrenia and took his own life. So I don’t need to be educated on the matter. Other boxers have got criminal records and never get the same treatment.

There are too many out there who want to sharpen their pencil to write negative things about Tyson and ignore all the good he has done both inside and outside of the ring. Inside the ropes, he’s a legend of a fighter who has achieved great things as a boxer.

We know the Joshua fight would be huge. But it will only happen if Tyson wants it to. I haven’t spoken to him over Christmas and I don’t plan to pick up the phone to him but he has my number and when he’s ready he will call.

Whatever is next for him, Tyson will always be a great fighter and man to me. Tyson has made a lot of money from the sport but taking punches to the head can only last for so long.

Every fighter has a sell-by date. It’s up to Tyson if he has reached his yet. Having millions in the bank is only worth something if you can remember what street the bank is on.