After much speculation, Tommy Fury has finally explained his reasons for turning down I’m A Celebrity 2024 and what he plans to do instead.
Tommy and his now ex-fiancée Molly-Mae Hague had started planning their 2025 wedding before their separation this summer. They met on Love Island during its fifth season, in 2019.
Had he made it to the jungle this year, Tommy would be sharing a camp with late entrant Maura Higgins, whom he also met on Love Island in 2019.
2024 has been the hardest year of Tommy’s life, he says, which is part of the reason he decided to forgo the opportunity to eat rice and beans in the pretend jungle for up to three weeks.
Tommy Fury on I’m A Celebrity ‘snub’
Tommy Fury was due to enter I’m A Celebrity 2024… until he wasn’t.
ITV bosses quickly entered into talks with the likes of Danny Jones and Maura Higgins to “replace” him. Meanwhile, the rumour mill whirred around the notion that Tommy had pulled out in order to fight a rematch against social media influencer and professional boxer KSI.
But he won’t be returning to the ring to fight KSI.
I want to be remembered for doing it my way.
The reason Tommy Fury turned down the I’m A Celebrity gig was to fight former UFC star Darren Till instead. Their bout is due to take place in Manchester in January. It will be Fury’s first pro fight in 15 months.
“I want to be remembered for doing it my way,” he told the Loose Women panel this week.
“I got in, got my money, got out and had some entertaining fights along the way, and beat the best known guys on the scene.
“Darren Till is a proper fighting man. I like the fact he has a fighting background. He’s going to come for a fight… something KSI never did.”
Zing!
He still wants to go on I’m A Celeb
“I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is an amazing show,” Tommy said. “It’s something I want to do in the future, but at the end of the day I am what I am, I’m a fighter and I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.
“It’s been a long year, it’s been a tough year. It’s been the hardest year of my life because I’ve not been able to box. It was vital that I ended up in the ring sooner rather than later. It means everything to get back in the ring, especially to start off my year like that.”
“You can never say what is going to happen,” he went on to say. “I’m 25 years old, years after this has happened, if I’m there being told to jump in for a world title shot, of course I’m going to take it.”
Tommy Fury on his hand surgery
Among the things ailing him this year were recovery from a hand surgery and a public break-up from Molly-Mae Hague, in August.
He went in for surgery in January after putting off a necessary procedure “for years”. The idea was that he could finally “move forward with his boxing career”, the BBC quotes him as saying in an Instagram post.
“Since 2019 I have been dealing with a hand injury that I’ve never spoken about/shared online. Since my third professional fight, I have been trying to manage this injury, training and fighting through extreme pain which led me to often not being able to use my right hand at all.
“For the last four weeks of my last camp I trained solely with my left hand until fight night.”
“This morning I underwent the surgery I’ve been putting off for years as I know this is the only way my hand will heal and I can move forward with my boxing career,” he said.
“I’m excited for my recovery journey and so ready to be back feeling and giving a 100% in 2024.”
In September, he posted a video of him training, nine months later.
“WOW does this feel good,” he captioned the post. “My mental health needed this positive step today. Thank you God for healing me.”
Read more: Molly-Mae Hague admits she planned to ‘marry ex Tommy Fury next year’ as she addresses split
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