A TYSON Fury superfan who tried to take his own life but was “saved” after severe depression “robbed him of his character” will appear in an ITV documentary later this week.
Darlington man Karl Jones will appear in an episode of ITV's up and coming three-part series, Tyson Fury:The Gypsy King, after a chance meeting on Teesside last year.
Mr Jones, who said depression had left him feeling like somebody else, attempted to take his own life in August 2018 after battling mental health.
But after watching a video of the Professional British Boxer Tyson Fury discussing his own battle with depression, the 33-year-old was spurred on to 'keep on going' and took up boxing himself.
As a result, Mr Jones received a personal video from Fury after learning about his suicide attempt and the fact he had been 'saved' by the boxer's support.
In the video, Fury addressed Mr Jones and said: "I read his story, I know he was about to commit suicide and he was inspired by my story.
"Quite the turnaround Karl, to be back boxing and helping mental health. Congratulations buddy, you're doing a fantastic job."
But after learning Fury was coming to the region for a special evening with fans, Mr Jones dashed to purchase tickets to try and say thank you in person.
He told The Northern Echo: "Fury was touring the UK and he came to Yarm - I bought tickets for it and went by myself, I went as a normal customer."
At the Princess Alexandra Auditorium in Yarm near Stockton, Mr Jones asked if he could speak to the organiser in an attempt to personally thank Fury for his support.
'It was surreal'
Not realising ITV were filming the up and coming series, he said: "I just wanted to say thank you for the video. I said 'can I speak' to someone in charge and then showed them the video.
"I told them I just wanted to thank him and they arranged it. Tyson Fury shouted me in and he said he remembered the video."
While Mr Jones was speaking with Fury, a camera crew filming the new three-part series asked if they could capture their interaction.
He said: "In the documentary, I was talking about how I had overcome mental health. It was surreal, it was overwhelming."
- Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King will air on Thursday, February 13 at 9pm on ITV
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