Tyson Fury to sue UKAD over steroid allegations

Unified and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is suing UK Anti-Doping over their allegations that evidence of performance-enhancing substance use were found in his urine.

In June the Sunday Mirror ran a story that claimed random samples taking from the heavyweight “between February and March last year [2015]” suggested the use of the muscle-building steroid Nandrolone.

Fury’s cousin, Hughie, was also implicated in the allegations.

Fury and his promoter Hennessy Sports released a statement at the time which “absolutely denies any allegation of doping,” and said they were “baffled by the report.”

Now the former Irish champion intends to bring UKAD to court. The Furys’s lawyer Lewis Power released a statement yesterday saying that “The two boxers strenuously deny taking any performance-enhancing drugs. However, during the last five weeks, leaks about these charges have appeared in the press and both boxers have been the targets of continual abusive language on Twitter.”

An interim judgment on the case is expected before Fury’s refixed rematch with former champion Wladimir Klitschko at the Manchester Arena in October.

A spokesperson for UKAD said that “UK Anti-Doping will not discuss or disclose details of cases until due legal process has been completed and an anti-doping rule violation has deemed to have been committed, at which point information will be published on our website.”

“This is to ensure that the rights and privacy of everyone involved are respected and protected, and to ensure cases are not unnecessarily prejudiced.”