Tyson Fury’s uncle Peter was drug baron who fell out with world champion nephew

Peter Fury helped guide Tyson Fury to his first world title back in 2015, and will be tasked with helping Rico Verhoeven score a historic win over Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night

Peter Fury alongside nephew Tyson(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

The Fury name has become rather synonymous with the boxing fans over the years – but their actions outside the ring also seem to grab the headlines.

Tyson Fury is arguably one of the biggest names in the history of boxing, while his divisive father John has been by his son’s side for most of his career. But it’s Fury Sr’s brother Peter who tends to go under the radar.

Peter famously helped guide his nephew Tyson to a stunning world title win over Wladimir Klitschko back in 2015 over in Germany. As of late, though, Peter seems to have distanced himself from the rest of the Fury clan. Long before Tyson became a two-time world champion, and pocketing millions in the process, his uncle Peter had been living the high life, albeit not through sports.

Peter had a reputation in the North West of England, after climbing the ranks of the criminal underworld. He once controlled a significant drug operation in the North, and his activities included leading a gang that smuggled amphetamines from Belgium – which were then distributed across cities.

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During an interview with BoxingScene, he once confessed: “I was wild when I was younger. I’d see someone with a nice pair of trainers on and want to have a fight with them. Then anyone who wanted protection would come to me because I was seen as a tough young fella. One thing led to another. I went from looking after people, to looking after other areas to looking after cities.”

Before the law caught up with him, Peter relished the rather lavish lifestyle. Fury owned both a Ferrari and a Porsche 911 with a personalised number plate. That said, he never forgot where he came from, as he maintained his traveller roots by continuing to live in caravans.

However, his antics began to untangle when he was apprehended in 1994 with a rucksack containing 10kg of speed. Rather than confessing, Peter attempted to deceive the courts by claiming his wealth came from boxing, bare-knuckle fighting, and selling cars. He was eventually sentenced to 10 years for possession of amphetamine with intent to supply after evidence revealed he was conducting illicit transactions using bank accounts in America, Spain, and Ireland.

Fury continued to operate his empire from behind bars, and he was later reincarcerated in 2008 for money laundering, being ordered to repay nearly £1million in assets. Reflecting on the case, Alun Milford, then head of the CPS Organised Crime Division, said: “It is clear from his realisable assets that Fury has enjoyed an extremely comfortable lifestyle and we will work vigorously to ensure he pays the court’s order.”

Recalling his time in prison, Peter told BoxingScene: “You’re on a knife edge. They soon get to know if you can fight and stand up for yourself. If you are weak in prison then you get quickly found out. I was regarded as dangerous, so I was locked up with IRA members and lifers.

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“It was like being in the dark for 24 hours a day. You can get beaten up in prison, you can get stabbed, but you can get all that on the streets as well. I’d dealt with that growing up. You sweat blood and tears in those cells. All those people who stick their chests out and say jail is easy are lying because there is nothing worse than being away from your family. Someone could put a million quid into a bank and ask me if I’d do my time over again for it I wouldn’t.”

He added: “You’re in hell on earth. That man sat next to you can easily put a knife through your neck because they’re in for life and are in despair with nothing to lose. People have no idea what it’s like. Going inside made me realise what life was about and what I was missing.”

Fury eventually managed to turn his life around while in prison, and opted to go back into the world of boxing. Reflecting on how his prison stints shaped his future, he once said: “You move on, learn from it, and it makes you a humble person. They say that some bad things can turn into good things. Unless you’ve had that experience, you don’t realise how good life can be.”

Peter saw his efforts in the sport rewarded when Tyson won the heavyweight world title in 2015. He also coaches his own son, Hughie, another professional boxer, and in recent times, has been instrumental in guiding Savannah Marshall’s boxing career. The ‘Gypsy King’ expressed his gratitude towards his uncle: “If it wasn’t with Peter, I wouldn’t be boxing. I wouldn’t train with anyone else.”

While Peter used boxing to avoid going back down the wrong path, he did face several challenges due to his past, including being barred from entering the US for one of Tyson’s fights back in 2013. He also had issues entering New Zealand for his son’s world title fight, although this decision was later overturned.

Both Peter and Tyson enjoyed many great moments in the ring back in the day, but it now seems as if their relationship has deteriorated. In 2016, Tyson admitted to a fallout with uncle during training, confessing to having “a bit of a fall-out over the sparring”. The Morecambe scrapper eventually cut ties with his uncle, instead choosing to work with Ben Davison for his comeback in 2018. Speaking about his uncle, Tyson confessed: “As for Peter, it’s heartbreaking how our relationship disintegrated because at one point in my life he was like a second father to me.”

Tyson’s win over Klitschko was arguably a huge shock, but there could be an even greater upset this weekend over in Egypt. Two-time undisputed heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk will return to the ring on Saturday night against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven. Peter is expected to be in Verhoeven’s corner for the heavyweight showdown, as the trainer looks to guide the Dutchman to a stunning victory.

Peter is adamant that Verhoeven will stun a lot of people. “We’ve got somebody in Rico that wholly believes he can win,” he said. “He’s trained like a Trojan, actually. He’s in phenomenal shape — he’s always in good shape, but for this he’s in phenomenal shape. He highly respects Usyk because who wouldn’t? So, yeah, he believes he can win, we’ve trained him so he can win, but obviously he’s up against the best there is in this division. So he’s going to get out there and he’s going to do his very best, and that’s all that you can do.

“Forget having one pro [boxing] fight. That’s rubbish. He’s got a good record. Rico can fight, he’s a fighting man. He’s been sparring with boxers for years, he can hold his own in there, and come Saturday night people will see it’s not going to be an easy fight for none of them.”