Three weeks ago, in the aftermath of losing his slice of the heavyweight world championship to Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury outlined how he would be spending some time before getting back into the grind.

‘We punched f*** out of each other for 12 rounds, so I’ll go home, eat some food, drink a few beers, have some family time, walk the dog, go to the tip,’ he said.

Having drunk a few a beers and tipped over onto a pavement in Morecambe on Friday night, it would seem he was good to his word.

If there will be a regret for Fury, it is that in today’s world a night out has a habit of going viral on social media when you’re one of the most recognisable athletes on the planet. Just as predictable will be those who link the footage to his past excesses and speculate on another decline into difficulties.

Such guess work runs the risk of cloaking a wild overreach in a few characters of concern online. It also underplays the right of a sportsman to downtime after months spent in two training camps for Usyk fight. A fight from which he will need to heal on a number of levels.

Tyson Fury (green jacket) had to be escorted out of a Morecambe bar and later collapsed

Fury (left) recently suffered the first defeat of his professional career to Oleksandr Usyk (right)

I’ve never been Fury’s biggest fan – ahead of that bout for the undisputed title, I described him as the most objectionable of Britain’s sporting giants.

I stand by that view, but falling drunk out of a pub is not part of the discussion. I’m more of the opinion that anyone who emerges on their feet from what Usyk threw in the ninth round is entitled to a stiff drink.

That being said, there is a date in the diary for a rematch – December 21 – and at 35 there are valid questions to be asked about whether Fury is capable of changing the result.

To see all of his guile and trickery and advantages in height and weight fall short on the biggest night of his career will have left deep scars. That it was his first professional loss will mean his technical and tactical improvements need to take place alongside the equally sizeable task of restoring of his confidence, because no boxer, even Fury, comes out of a defeat as the same person who entered the ring.

The 35-year-old was seen in a video published online looking worse for wear on a night out

The heavyweight broke cover on Tuesday afternoon in Morecambe as the clips went viral

Fury was pictured with his father John (right) in his hometown in the aftermath of the fracas

The scheduled rematch is still now over six months away, giving Fury time to recover from the heavy blows he took from Usyk

When that aura of invincibility goes, rivals might not see you quite the same way again, nor do those passing judgement on unflattering videos on social media, but those cuts often pale in comparison to the internal doubts.

From that perspective, Fury faces a far tougher walk in the next six months than any taken on his way out of a Morecambe pub.