In shortly under two months time, Tyson Fury will fight Deontay Wilder for the one heavyweight belt that has thus far eluded him; the American's WBC title.
Over three years after defeating Vladimir Klitschko and bringing an end to the Ukrainian's stranglehold over the division, the British boxer is patently aware of the difficulties he has overcome to return to the upper echelons of his sport.
Struggling with mental health issues, Fury openly discussed in an interview with New York City's The Breakfast Club radio show that this development lead to an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, and very nearly cost him his family life.
"I needed time to live a little life and enjoy myself, but it just went too far.
"Can you imagine being married to jack-the-lad, the heavyweight champion of the world, the talker, the person everyone is talking about?
"Then it all goes wrong, he hits the drink, he's out every night until 5:00am in the morning, sometimes he doesn't come home for three days. I'd go to the shop and end up in New York!
"I could be anywhere, it was crazy, out of control ... something needed to happen, and it did."
Outlining one particular moment that sticks with him after working through these problems, Tyson Fury recalled one experience where he was certain he was about to die, and the sensations this incident brought forth.
"I was driving home, everything was going alright, and a [panic attack] came on me when I was driving.
"I pulled over straight away and called my friend, 'where are ya? I think I'm dying.' So he came trying to find me, but I was running down the road, I was just gone completely, out of control.
"I found myself running down the sidewalk with people beeping their horns, thinking I was going to get run over.
"It was my first experience of a panic attack and I didn't know what was going on. I was calling out to God to forgive me for my sins, because I was 100% certain I was going to hit the ground and die.
"The only thing I could think about was my kids growing up with no father ... nothing else really mattered."
Since announcing his comeback with a bout against Sefer Seferi in June of this year, Tyson Fury has been keen to highlight his position as an example for those silently suffering with mental health issues.
Although the boxer was quick to distance himself from some troubling public comments he made during this period, it is clear that for the time being, at least, Tyson Fury is determined on regaining some of what was lost during this harrowing time.
You can watch the entirety of Fury's interview below.
