Tommy Fury says his return to the boxing ring ‘means everything’ as he prepares to fight in Budapest tonight, marking his first bout since a difficult layoff that included recovery from hand surgery, a split from his partner Molly-Mae Hague and a personal battle with alcohol addiction.

The 26-year-old former Love Island star, who shot to global fame through high-profile fights with Jake Paul and KSI, has not fought since his decision win over KSI in October 2023.

In that time, Fury – the younger brother to Tyson Fury – underwent surgery on a long-standing hand injury, split and then reunited with Hague — and, as he now reveals, fell into a dark period that led to excessive drinking.

‘It means everything,’ Fury said when asked what it’s like to be back in fight mode. ‘It’s like, you know, a footballer who can’t play football. It’s everything. It’s his life. It’s what makes him tick. You know, this is all I’ve done since being a kid. I don’t really know any other.’

Fury described a mental spiral that began after the adrenaline highs of his huge fights quickly gave way to the stillness and frustration of injury recovery.

‘I think if I hadn’t had the two massive fights that I did before the injury, things might have been a little bit different,’ he admitted. ‘But going from that high to such a low, just being in bed and not being able to do anything… I couldn’t even take a shower properly because I couldn’t get the thing on my hand wet for the first six months.

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Tommy Fury revealed his impressive body transformation ahead of his return to the ring

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Tonight’s fight marks his first bout since a difficult layoff that included recovery from hand surgery, a personal battle with alcohol addiction and splitting from Molly-Mae

‘That’s when you end up going down a bit of a bad path and struggle to turn around,’ he added. ‘But, you know, I just look at all that as a distant memory now… Friday night is the start of that new chapter.’

Now fighting at heavyweight and back with Hague following their split last summer, Fury says he’s in a better place both mentally and physically.

In previous fights, including the KSI bout, he says weight cuts left him drained—claiming he lost 60 pounds in eight weeks to make the contracted limit.

‘I feel like now that my hand’s been fixed I will be better than ever. I’ve had the big operation, I’ve trained with it since, and it’s holding up well,’ Fury said. ‘That KSI fight absolutely drained me to make the weight.

‘I think in eight weeks, I had to lose like, 60 pounds. So it absolutely killed me to get down to that, that weight but now I’m boxing at heavyweight. I’m feeling good for my sessions. I’m not going hours without any water or not eating after sessions. There’s none of that happening. So I feel great, physically and mentally.’

Despite concerns from some observers over his dramatically bulked-up physique—Fury has been sharing photos of his bodybuilding progress on social media—he insists the added muscle isn’t compromising his performance in the ring.

‘Ever since I was young, even boxing the amateurs, I was always that kid who had a lot of muscle. Everyone was always shocked but it didn’t slow me down,’ he said. ‘I would always move with it, I could always box with it. I wasn’t stiff like people would imagine.

‘Even now, like, I’m heavier and I’ve probably got more muscle, but I’m sparring 10 rounds easy with fresh men in and out. I am breezing through these guys. Physically I am in great shape.

‘The muscle don’t weigh me down, and it’s not that stiff muscle—it’s explosive muscle,’ Fury continued. ‘I’ve been training like this at this weight for the past six months. So I’m more than ready to jump in there and dance around the ring with this weight on.’

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Fury (pictured above) says his return to the boxing ring ‘means everything’ as he prepares to fight in Budapest tonight

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The Love Island star has not fought since beating KSI via majority decision in October 2023

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Fury says he’s been breezing through his sparring partners during his training camp

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Fury also discussed whether he believes Tyson will return to the ring to face Anthony Joshua

Outside of his own comeback, Fury also weighed in on speculation surrounding his older brother Tyson’s future in the sport. The former WBC heavyweight champion announced his retirement again following his second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last year, though fans continue to hope for a blockbuster clash with Anthony Joshua.

‘I don’t know if he’s going to make a comeback. It’s a tough thing to say, isn’t it?’ Tommy said. ‘He’s retired and come back plenty of times, but I don’t think he’s got anything left to give to the sport. He’s won every belt there is. He’s done everything.’

‘Tyson’s his own man, and he’ll make that decision. But as of right now, I don’t know. I haven’t got a clue. I think he’s enjoying retirement.’

Tommy Fury headlines tonight’s card in Budapest against Kenan Hanjalic and will look to establish himself in the heavyweight picture—the fight can be watched live on DAZN.