Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing for the third time in a fresh bombshell statement.
Fury, 36, has been heavily tipped to fight fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua in 2025 but it appears that bout is no longer on the cards. The ‘Gypsy King’ lost his last fight in December to heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, the second time he’d been defeated by the Ukrainian.
Fury made the announcement in a short video which he posted on social media on Monday afternoon.
“Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” he said to the camera. “I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing. It’s been a blast, I’ve loved every single minute of it. I’m going to end with this. Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, see you on the other side. Get up!”
Tyson Fury shows true colours with snub after Anthony Joshua call-out
Anthony Joshua lays out new Tyson Fury demand after going hunting for rival
Boxing fans have noted that Fury has retired from the sport twice in the past. The first came after his historic victory over Wladimir Klitschko and again after he beat Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium.
Fury said when asked about the prospect of retiring after losing to Usyk in Saudi Arabia last month: “You might see me fight again, you might not.”
Yet a clash with Joshua has been hotly debated ever since. Eddie Hearn, head of Matchroom Boxing Joshua’s promoter, said following Fury’s loss: “The reality is there’s only one fight for Tyson Fury and that’s Anthony Joshua. It’s the biggest fight probably in the history of British boxing, everyone will always want to see it.”
Hearn also revealed on Sunday that he’d reserved Wembley for Fury and Joshua’s fight to take place in ‘May or June’. “Yes. We’re looking to get back in the ring in May or June. If it ended up being July, it doesn’t really matter,’ Hearn told Sky Sports at the Ring Awards.
Will Tyson Fury stay retired for good? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
Tyson Fury recent lost to Oleksandr Usyk
(
Image:
PA)
“I still think it rests on Tyson Fury. Until the water settles on the defeat and where he’s at mentally and what he wants to do, that’s where we’re really going to find out. Because when he looks at the options, what else is he going to do and who else is he going to fight?”
Joshua, 35, also confirmed earlier this month that Fury was his next ‘target’. He explained during a trip to meet Nigerian President Bola Tinubu: “2025, I am targeting Tyson Fury.”
Fury and Joshua had been scheduled to fight in 2022, with the Gypsy King the reigning WBC heavyweight champion at the time. Negotiations for their clash ultimately collapsed, with Fury instead successfully defending his title against Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua’s last fight, meanwhile, took place in September. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist was stopped in the fifth round by Britain’s Daniel Dubois for the IBF title.