The beauty of Tyson Fury’s recent knockout of Deontay Wilder in their WBC fight is better appreciated when significant aspects of his life before the fight are put together as a canvas on which his victory over Wilder is painted. He has become some kind of metaphor. Some symbol of hope for everyone challenged in the area of mental health.

That he was born three months pre-term is not the bigger issue. That he weighted one pound at birth is not the bigger issue. That doctors and nurses didn’t think he would make it is not the bigger issue. That his father named him Tyson after seeing the ‘fighter’ in the little baby is not even the issue.

The bigger issue came along as time passed. He grew. Then life happened to him. As it does to all of us. When life happened he was thrown off balance and landed in the lane of mental illness. He started drinking alcohol and doing cocaine. He stopped training. Put on weight. Then wanted to die. But he wouldn’t kill himself because he didn’t want to go to hell fire. He believed, as a Christian that he would go to hell if he committed suicide so he began to look for the person that would kill him so that another will carry that cross on his conscience. Fortunately for him, his path didn’t cross that of a murderer.

At some point all of his belts were taken away from him because doctors said he didn’t have the mental fitness to fight. But he continued his fight against mental illness. He became such a bright spot in the dull firmament of mental illness the day he sought to show the world that everyone distressed by mental health could have their lives back. “If I can come from where I’m from, then you can do it too. Get up, get over it. Let’s do it. Seek help and let’s do it together as a team. I did it for you guys.” team. I did it for you guys.”