Former world champion Tyson Fury wants Anthony Joshua to give him first crack at the world title, saying Kiwi Joseph Parker is "a risky fight".

Fury - who is back from a drug ban and says he has lost four stone from his peak weight - urged Joshua, the holder of the IBF and WBA belts, not to fight Parker, who holds the WBO crown, before the British pair clash.

"That is a risky fight for Joshua, and it could ruin a big fight between us if he loses," Fury said.

"Joshua has been a good little polisher boy, polishing up my belts. He is a big strong lad, good power, good physique, but what else can I say? There are levels to this game, and my boxing ability is way more advanced than his is.

"What will they say when the big fat Gypsy King gets in there and makes this Adonis Joshua look like a child in the ring? They'll say he fought me too soon, that he was inexperienced, that he slipped. But you'll see it some time sooner or later."

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ALEX LIVESEY/ GETTY IMAGES Tyson Fury filled out a big suit in October when attending the fight between Anthony Crolla and Ricky Burns.

Fury resolved his case with UK Anti-Doping three days ago with both parties agreeing to backdate his two-year absence as a ban, the 29-year-old former World Boxing Organisation, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association world heavyweight champion is free to become a prize fighter once more.

In his first interview since then, he revealed the dark days of his depression "when life itself seemed pointless" - and said his main aim next year was a British superfight with Joshua.

Fury, who is over 2m tall, explained he had ballooned to 171kg in weight, and that letters from around the world from others suffering from mental health issues had "inspired and lifted" him.

GETTY IMAGES Tyson Fury wasn't too impressed with the judges' decision in the first instance after they awarded Joseph Parker the fight against his cousin Hughie, in September.

As a result, Fury disclosed, he is planning a charity exhibition boxing match soon with Frank Bruno, who has had his own struggles, to raise funds for mental health charities.

Fury has made it clear that his overwhelming goal is to reclaim the belts he was stripped of and vacated, and he believes that next year he will be ready to take on Joshua in what he called "the biggest fight ever seen in Britain".

Fury - undefeated in 25 fights - was delighted at the resolution of the stand-off with Ukad over a positive test for traces of the banned steroid nandrolone in February 2015 in a long-running and complex case.

He escaped a career-threatening drugs ban, accepting a backdated two-year suspension, after claiming that eating meat from an uncastrated boar was to blame - and later refused to take a random drug test while suffering from depression.

"I'm over the moon. I'm inspired to get back," Fury said at a function in Wolverhampton, where he was the guest of honour at a dinner event with the company Showfighter.

"I always thought the truth would come out and that I'd be able to fight again. It was devastating mentally, but you live and learn. I felt like I'd reached my Everest when I beat Wladimir Klitschko to claim the world title, but now I'm motivated again. There are a lot of naysayers out there, and they don't believe I can beat practically anybody in the heavyweight division."

But Fury insisted that he would not rush his comeback. "I won't be forced into fighting these elite, hard guys until I'm fully fit, mentally and physically. I'll have been out for 2 years when I fight next, and I've been eating and drinking my way through the country. I've lost four stone. I need to lose another three to four. I'm not a silly man. I'm very, very sharp when it comes to the business of boxing. I won't be rushed back, because one punch can change everything in a heavyweight fight."

He admits the depression hit him hard. "There was a time I thought to myself in 2016, 'Do I continue? What am I doing?' There was a period when I couldn't be bothered living, waking up in the morning, wondering what life was all about. Waking up and thinking, 'Not again, not these feelings again'. It's called depression.

"Nothing mattered to me at that time: family, children, wife, money, cars - nothing mattered. But when you lose the will to live, you don't care about anything else. And that's the bad place I got myself into."

Fury was stripped of the IBF crown, unable to defend his title in a rematch against Klitschko because of an ankle injury, and then went on a drugs and alcohol binge. He fell out of love with boxing, relinquishing the WBO and WBA belts, had his licence removed by the British Boxing Board of Control, and saw no future for himself.

"I thought to myself, 'You have got to break out of this'. I'd put the weight on - I'd got up to 27 stone. I had boxed at 18 stone 18 months earlier. I had won the heavyweight championship of the world. I jumped on the scales, as fat as a pig, as down as could be, I looked in the mirror and I thought, 'There's only one direction I can go from here, and that's up'."

Fury resolved then not only to get fit, but to become a mental health ambassador. "I was helped when I got those messages from people from all over the world who had the same thing. I really did find it inspirational. There's a lot of people out there suffering like I was. I thought, 'I'm going to come back from the brink of defeat and turn it all on its head'."

Could this be the real beginning of the new Tyson Fury era? "They say everything happens for a reason," he added.

"Someone labelled it the four kings right now, four undefeated heavyweight fighters in myself, Joshua, Parker and [Deontay] Wilder. But I labelled it 'three peasants and a king'. There's only one king of the division and that's me."

With Fury back, the heavyweight division just got a whole lot more interesting.

Where to get help

Lifeline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 354

Depression Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 111 757

Healthline (open 24/7) - 0800 611 116

Samaritans (open 24/7) - 0800 726 666

Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.

Youthline (open 24/7) - 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email talk@youthline.co.nz

0800 WHATSUP children's helpline - phone 0800 9428 787 between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. Online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm every day at www.whatsup.co.nz.

Kidsline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 754. This service is for children aged 5 to 18. Those who ring between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays will speak to a Kidsline buddy. These are specially trained teenage telephone counsellors.

Your local Rural Support Trust - 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP)

Alcohol Drug Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 787 797. You can also text 8691 for free.

For further information, contact the Mental Health Foundation's free Resource and Information Service (09 623 4812).