Tyson Fury: Former world heavyweight champion retires from boxing after defeat by Oleksandr Usyk | Boxing news
Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing, effective immediately.
The announcement comes just two days after Eddie Hearn revealed Wembley has been booked for Fury to fight Anthony Joshua in the summer.
This is not the first time that Fury has announced his retirement, as in April 2022, after his victory over Dillian Whyte, the Brit said he would hang up his gloves.
The 36-year-old returned six months later to take on Derek Chisora in a trilogy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I would like to announce my retirement from boxing,” Fury said video post on Instagram.
“It was great. I loved every minute and I’ll end with this – Dick Turpin wore a mask!”
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren said Sky Sports: “Good luck to him, God bless him. I’m thrilled for him. Ever since his last fight, I’ve been saying whatever he chooses to do, I support him 100 percent.
“He’s done incredibly big things for British boxing, world boxing. He’s been in some of the most exciting fights, certainly in the second coming, they’ve been exciting fights every single one of them.
“I’m delighted for him. I hope he and his family enjoy the fruits of his labor.”
Last week, Joshua, who has not fought since Daniel Dubois knocked him out in September, posted a picture of Fury on his Instagram with the message “looking for this guy”.
Eddie Hearn said Connecting room that Fury’s decision to retire is “disappointing for British fight fans” but he “doubts” his career is over and hopes the Joshua-Fury fight can still happen.
Asked if the Joshua fight could bring Fury out of retirement, Warren said: “It’s up to him. If he wants to, he will. If he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t have to. He doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody.”
Fury was defeated by unanimous decision in December rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
He speculated on whether he would even box again after the fight, saying, “Maybe I will, maybe not. I’m going home and I have time off.”
Fury is a two-time world heavyweight champion, and won his first title when he beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
After a three-year hiatus, he returned to the ring and defeated Deontay Wilder in their second fight in 2020 to become the WBC champion, before defending the title again against Wilder in 2021, then against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in 2022.
He overcame a major scare against Francis Ngannou in 2023, before losing twice to Usyk last year.
Nelson: Fury is ‘the boy who cried wolf’
Sky Sports Boxing’s Jonny Nelson:
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and maybe even today, Tyson believes that’s what comes from his heart and soul. He’ll listen to the comments, but since he’s done it before and you think about what’s on the table now, why would you right now?
“As long as this fight with AJ is going on, I don’t believe it, who knows? Do you think Tyson quit? He quit today, but tomorrow is a different story. I don’t believe him.
“So if you listen to Frank and Eddie’s comments, it just reminds me of your parents when you’re a little kid and you say, ‘You’re leaving home, I’m running,’ and your mom and dad say, ‘Yeah, go on then,’ because they know that they don’t have to deal with you.
“So maybe you know, Frank’s actually thinking, ‘You know what? This is him today. I get it. I’ll go with you, but the door’s still open.’
“I just don’t believe it, because there’s still too much of a lucrative opportunity for him with Anthony Joshua.”
Sky Sports News’ Ben Ransom:
“Very enigmatic and typical Tyson Fury. It’s not the first time we’ve heard him make a similar statement about retirement. Turn the clock back to 2022 after he just beat Dilian Whyte and he said that’s it, he’s done and ready to ride off into the sunset.
“And then he was tempted to come back, so to speak, to fight Derek Chisora and then that finally put him on the path to becoming the undisputed king of the heavyweight division.
“So I think we can take that with a little bit of a grain of salt, just considering the previous one.
“I think the cryptic message about Dick Turpin wearing the mask is the part that maybe makes me think there’s more going on than what he’s missing right now.”
Fury’s boxing legacy
Sky Sports’ John Dennen:
“Tyson Fury really has a legacy in the sport. He’s won every major title in the division. He’s had key moments in boxing. He upset Wladimir Klitschko, the previously dominant champion, back in 2015 when he first held the unified titles.
“He then completed an extraordinary comeback when, after more than two years of being inactive, packing on the pounds and struggling with mental health, he returned to the sport.
“Fury drew controversially with Deontay Wilder in 2018, memorably rising after a heavy knockdown. He then became WBC world champion when he crushed Wilder in the rematch, and the pair ended their trilogy with one of the most exciting heavyweight fights of all time.
“But there are holes in his resume. He has never held all four major titles at the same time. This year his bid for the undisputed world heavyweight title against Oleksandr Usyk ended in defeat. He also fell short in his second bout with Usyk, losing another one points decision which means Usyk will be considered the best heavyweight of this era.
“He’s also never boxed his great British rival Anthony Joshua. But maybe that fight could tempt Fury to retire. Sure, he retired, and he didn’t retire before…”
