Frank Warren Dismisses 'Rubbish' Tyson Fury Doping Allegations

Tyson Fury's promoter, Frank Warren, has dismissed allegations the WBC champion's camp paid a farmer to hide a failed doping test in 2015.

In an official statement, Warren called the claims "rubbish" and said the farmer approached him first, looking for money:

"The farmer making these outrageous allegations sent me a letter last October, full of errors and basically telling me he had committed perjury by signing statements under oath and lying. When I called him, he asked for money. I told him to clear off and get in contact with UKAD. He chose not to speak to UKAD but instead speak to a newspaper.

"How anybody can take this man seriously is beyond belief. Tyson has never met this man in his life. What a load of rubbish. We’ll leave this with UKAD to look into and don’t expect it to go any further.

"It looks like while the football season has been paused, there’s nothing to write about and silly season has instead commenced."

The Mail on Sunday's Guy Walters and Riath Al-Samarrai reported the farmer's allegations:

The Lancashire farmer, Martin Carefoot, said a member of the Fury team offered him £25,000 to testify to the UK Anti-Doping agency about supplying the Gypsy King and his cousin Hughie with uncastrated wild boar.

They then blamed the meat for a positive test for the banned steroid nandrolone and received backdated two-year bans.

Carefoot also said he never received the £25,000, and he is sharing his story because he feels "sick of the lies and deceit and the public need to know the truth." Per Walters, he did not receive payment for the interview:

The positive tests came after Tyson and Hughie Fury beat Christian Hammer and Andriy Rudenko, respectively. They weren't charged until 16 months later, well after the Gypsy King beat Wladimir Klitschko to become the unified and lineal heavyweight champion.

Because of the delay, the backdated two-year ban was seen as lenient and wouldn't have kept Fury out on the ring for long had he been active. He was on hiatus at the time, however, and didn't return until 2018.

The 31-year-old has battled his way back to the top of the sport since returning, culminating in a stoppage win over Deontay Wilder in February. That took his record to 30-0-1 and won him the WBC title, setting up a possible unification bout with compatriot Anthony Joshua at some point in the future.

Fury will face Wilder in a third fight first after the Bronze Bomber triggered a rematch clause in their contract. The two battled to a draw in their first meeting.