Former unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has announced his retirement.
Fury posted a video with the announcement to his Instagram account on Monday.
There is always the chance that Fury is using the option of retirement as a bargaining chip in negotiations for an Anthony Joshua fight, which, although it won’t have the same luster it did years ago, would do extraordinary business in the UK and would sell out most stadiums at least twice over.
Promoter Eddie Hearn had been optimistic that there could be two fights in a Joshua-Fury rivalry, with one in England and one in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in Fury’s sub-20-second retirement video, he alluded to negotiations for a return to the ring falling short of his expectations.
“Hi, everybody. I’m going to make this short and sweet,” said Fury. “I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing. It’s been a blast. I’ve loved every single minute of it. And I’m going to end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody. See you on the other side.”
Dick Turpin was a highwayman who was executed for theft.
The 36-year-old “Gypsy King,” Fury, has lost his last two fights, both via decision to Oleksandr Usyk, and is 34-2-1 (24 KOs). His last three fights, against Francis Ngannou – against whom he climbed off the floor to outpoint – and Usyk have all been in Saudi Arabia. His two previous fights, against Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte, were in the UK. Those followed a spell in the US, where Fury had a trilogy with Deontay Wilder and bouts with Otto Wallin and Tom Schwarz.
The 6ft 9ins Fury turned pro in December 2008. He won his first world title in November 2016 with a points victory over Wladimir Klitschko.
It seemed over the weekend that Joshua was interested in a Fury fight, posting on social media a picture of Fury while on his way to The Ring awards function, along with the words: “Looking for this man tonight.”
At the ceremony itself, Joshua – who said any fight with Fury had to happen this year – added: “It’s a fight I want to see because I’m a fan of boxing. When I am in the gym, everyone is asking me. I ain’t got many years ahead of me. I want to leave the game with a bang and make an impact.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
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