10 things easier to believe than Tyson Fury’s latest retirement

Tyson Fury announced his retirement from boxing yesterday, yet many believe it was no more than a negotiating tactic and that he will, as he has done before, return when the right offer comes in. He mentioned Dick Turpin, while everyone else thought about The Boy Who Cried Wolf. 

1) Tyson Fury is the “joint best” heavyweight of the century

According to Frank Warren, his man, Tyson Fury, leaves the sport having conquered them all. “He’s made a lot of money, he’s had a fantastic career, he’s the best British heavyweight, and he’s probably the joint best heavyweight this century,” Warren said to Boxing on TNT. Warren, of course, also felt Fury beat Oleksandr Usyk back in December. 

2) Wladimir Klitschko returns to the ring in 2025

Rumours of Wladimir Klitschko returning to the boxing ring gathered pace towards the end of last year but thankfully seem to have died down as we enter 2025. Perhaps, as is true of Joe Calzaghe, Klitschko was propositioned by men in the Middle East with a big bag of money only to ultimately see sense and realise that his failing body and brain are more important than any lucrative encore; the kind for which nobody claps or waits behind.   

3) Jake Paul one day fights Saul “Canelo” Alvarez

This fight appears to get closer to happening each year simply by virtue of Jake Paul still hanging around and putting on gloves now and again. For as long as he does that, there will always be an interest on the part of professional boxers in putting him in his place and, more importantly, sharing some of his wealth. Whether someone as decorated as Alvarez would debase himself for the same reasons remains to be seen, but fewer people are now openly laughing at the idea in favor of saying instead: “Go ahead, Canelo. Just do it. Take the money.” 

4) Deontay Wilder and Joe Joyce continuing in 2025 will turn out well

Deontay Wilder and Joe Joyce are two heavyweights who have given the sport plenty over the years, in terms of both action and themselves, and yet neither are prepared to call it a day and accept their lot. In fact, we learned at the start of this year that both Wilder and Joyce are planning comebacks – Joyce in March; Wilder in April – and that the prospect of one last Middle East payday is enough for these heavyweights to continue in spite of all the signs (chiefly, their recent form). 

5) Boxers who fail performance-enhancing drugs tests were contaminated 

Whether related to eggs, steak, or a protein shake, the old contamination excuse is as synonymous with a failed drugs test as the white-on-black Instagram statement and the all-round confusion. It is the first way-out explored by the boxer and their team and it carries weight due to the sport itself being far too lenient with boxers when they flunk a test. Often, rather than take the failed test at face value and administer a suitable punishment, the sport simply gives the boxer in question as much time and space as possible to “prove their innocence” despite what they have written down in front of them. A case is then prepared. Two years pass. 

6) Conor Benn is quitting social media

New year, new me and all that, Conor Benn announced on social media on January 2 that he was quitting social media in order to get “locked in” ahead of a potential WBC title shot. He has since reneged on that promise, however, and has now not only switched his focus from a world title shot to Chris Eubank Jnr, his dad’s old mate, but is also posting as freely and recklessly on social media as he was in 2024. Attention, it’s a hell of a drug.

7) Ryan Garcia will bypass all traditional anti-doping agencies and create his own

During his appearance at The Ring awards on Saturday, disgraced former world champion Ryan Garcia spoke of his frustration with VADA (Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency) and even claimed that two of his urine samples had been tampered with last year. In case you forgot, and many have, Garcia tested positive for ostarine in two urine tests – one on April 19 and the other on April 20 – around the time of his April 20 fight against Devin Haney. He has since tried to circumvent these facts by (a) appearing in an exhibition bout in Japan which ultimately never happened and (b) exploring the possibility of swerving VADA for any future fight. Boxing, meanwhile, continues to invite, interview and welcome him. 

8) The world’s promoters suddenly get along

As lovely as it is to see many enemies come together in the name of charity (that is, their own), does anybody really believe that the world’s leading promoters all suddenly like each other and are asking about one another’s families, holiday plans, and mental health? No, I think not. Instead, with a hunger for money their only common ground, what we have here is an example of children on a playground in awe of a new student from a different school and realising that to ingratiate themselves to this new student they must first pretend they are amiable people who have always got along. In fairness, they are doing a fine job of it too. 

9) Everybody in boxing is suddenly a reader

Having The Ring magazine back in print is objectively a wonderful thing, yet it is amusing nevertheless to discover just how many of the sport’s key protagonists – boxers, promoters, coaches, and journalists – have been such avid readers throughout the years. To hear them all speak at Saturday’s awards, one was left baffled as to how print publications in boxing have been suffering so much of late and why the sport’s coverage has pivoted away from proper journalism towards social media clickbait and content creation. After all, everybody, it seems, loves The Ring, grew up with it, have always wanted to appear on its cover, and couldn’t possibly imagine living in a world without it. One only hopes that once the pomp and pageantry has died down, some of these fans have the decency to now actually pick it up and read it in 2025.  

10) Big fights can happen outside Riyadh Season

This is what they tell you and what they want you to believe. However, with Naoya Inoue, Terence Crawford and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez all pictured in rooms with Turki Alalshikh, it is no exaggeration to say that everybody’s favorite financier has now well and truly lassoed the best of the best in boxing. There will still be big fights happening elsewhere – in places other than Riyadh – but the biggest fights of the year are now surely destined to take place in Saudi Arabia or at the very least promote its virtues. In other words, if you thought Riyadh Season was a season like spring, summer, autumn, or winter, you were wrong.