JOHN Fury is famous for being the patriarch of the boxing family dynasty, the Furys.
These days he is known for being a loveable rogue, but he actually has a darker past, which includes a long spell in prison.
Who is John Fury?
Nicknamed “Gypsy John” because of his Irish Traveller heritage, John Fury was born in Tuam, Galway, and is a former professional boxer and bareknuckle fighter.
Speaking about his travelling roots, he told viewers in Netflix show, At Home With The Furys: “I’m a travelling man. I was born in a caravan.
“Gimme me caravan, gimme me dog, gimme me family and let me get in the middle of that field where I belong.”
Fury later relocated to Manchester due to a lack of jobs in his homeland.
By the age of just five-years-old, he got his taste for fighting, when he had a brawl with a “much older” boy that left “wet through with blood”.
In 2021, he told the Disruptors With Rob Moore podcast: “I remember it because I was entangled in barbed wire…
“I got wrapped up in barbed wire and was ripped to pieces… I remember I thought, ‘Me mam’s going to kill me’ because I tore me jumper.
“I was more scared of me mam because I ripped me clothes on barbed wire and I was wet through with blood.”
Fury’s professional boxing career spanned eight years and in total, he was involved in 13 bouts before his last fight in 1995.
Over the years Gypsy John welcomed six sons.
This includes two-time heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson Fury, who he named after Mike Tyson, and professional boxer and reality star Tommy Fury.
Fury’s other children are Roman, Hugh, John Jr and Shane – his only daughter, Ramona, tragically passed away months after birth.
Why did John Fury go to prison?
In 2011, Fury was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm
It was after he tried to gouge out a man’s eye in a brawl in 2010.
Victim Oathie Sykes’ was left half-blind after a 12-year dispute erupted in violence at a car auction.
Fury was handed an 11-year sentence.
The self-confessed “hardest man in Britain”, broke down in court as he pleaded for a lenient sentence.
He told the court: “I’m worried about my son. His boxing career is on the line.
“If I could give my own eye to him to get back to my children I would do – I’m begging you for my life.”
But Skyes offered a different testimony, saying: “It was like he was trying to pull his finger into my brains through my socket.”
Fury was released from prison in February 2015 after serving four years of his term.
What has John Fury said about his time in prison?
Fury has been very open about his time in jail, and the remorse he feels.
Speaking to Betfred in 2021, he said: “For me being a traveling man and one in the great outdoors, well it was a horror story a nightmare, the worst kind of a nightmare is to be locked up.
“Especially when you’re used to being free and doing as you want to do and going where you want to.
“But clever people and strong people mind and body can adjust and I adjusted early on saying right, ‘I’m not going to get out of this but I thought it’s better than being dead.”
Asked if he got into trouble whilst he was serving time, Fury said: “No no, I didn’t.
“I kept myself to myself and I thought about it I thought, you know what I’ve got to keep my hands in my pockets here if I want to get out.
“I’ve got to let a lot of stuff go over my head.”
He also said in the interview that he had “learnt” his lesson, adding that “sometimes lessons are harsh”.