Tyson Fury could ‘take his life’ if he is not allowed to box again, fears Billy Joe Saunders

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS is worried pal Tyson Fury could end his life is he is not allowed to box again.

The former heavyweight champ has not fought since beating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

And with the BBBofC refusing to grant him a licence until a UK Anti-Doping hearing has taken place, Fury is facing longer out of the ring.

Middleweight champion Saunders told : “Tyson has come a long way from when this all started. He has got over mental health issues.

“At one stage, I was a bit worried about him. He was talking about suicide on the phone.

“I had to give him a wake-up call. Thank God, the last eight months he has seen a light at the end of the tunnel, he has seen hope, he has overcome all that.

“He has really knuckled down, he has lost two stone, he is mentally in a good place and if anything happens with Tyson’s life I will be blaming the British Boxing Board of Control because boxing is his life.

“He doesn’t know how to do anything else. He can’t go and get a normal job.

“He can’t go and keep his mind occupied. He is a born fighter through and through.

“It is all he has ever known to do and people are stopping him doing it for no apparent reason.

“Let’s give him his licence back, let him crack on and get on with his life.

“If Tyson goes back to where he was 16 months ago, there is no coming back from it. I do fear he will do something silly to himself. Boxing is his absolute life. He loves it.

“This could really, really affect his life, if not take his life, because if this gets as bad as it did 16 months ago, there is no coming back for him.

“I really hope that they see sense and let him get back to doing what he loves doing.”