Tyson Fury retires again, Deontay Wilder, Naoya Inoue, Artur Beterbiev, Teofimo Lopez, Erislandy Lara

In this week’s mailbag, we tackle the latest retirement announcement from former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder’s comeback foe, Naoya Inoue’s late replacement opponent, Artur Beterbiev’s short turnaround time, Teofimo Lopez turning down Subriel Matias, and Erislandy Lara’s run of knockouts.

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TYSON FURY WAS IMPRESSIVE, BUT NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO RETIRE

Tyson Fury at his best was a huge man with small-man skills. Fun to watch and highly skilled. Unfortunately, Fury wasn’t always at his best because of mental issues and drug abuse. That he was good enough to beat Wladimir Klitschko and knock Deontay Wilder out twice while dealing with his issues is impressive. 

Post-Wilder, Fury is not the same guy. Wilder put a lot of damage on him, and at his age and having lost the ability to pull the trigger when needed, he is better served to retire. Of course he will fight Anthony Joshua, and maybe even keep going after that, for money. But he isn’t the same guy anymore. As happens with all fighters. 

Detractors love to rag on fighters once they decline, and Fury is loathed by many. I prefer to look at the most exciting trilogy of the last decade between him and Wilder and just feel gratitude. Two guys went in to win, aggressive and throwing bombs, putting on a show as warriors, as gladiators. That is rare in the sport these days. Wilder was not a great fighter, but his power was very real. I respected him more after the trilogy. He went in to stop Fury. That trilogy was the stuff of legend. 

Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk was two old guys sparring. Neither guy wanted to take it; they both were there for the big check. Fury should stop, but he won’t. Too much money. And maybe he and AJ will be a good fight. Who knows?

Kieran Mulvaney’s response: I was nodding along in agreement until your characterization of the Fury-Usyk fights. No offense, but what were you watching? Plenty of folks – including us here at BoxingScene – saw Usyk-Fury I as Fight of the Year last year, and while the rematch was less exciting, it was enthralling and Usyk’s performance was, I thought, sublime.

As for the rest, I agree entirely. Far too many fans are enthusiastic about jumping on a fighter once he loses or puts in a bad performance, but the reason halls of fame – including the International Boxing Hall of Fame – wait for several years after an athlete retires before considering them is so they can assess his or her career in totality. 

I suspect history will be pretty kind to Fury. As you said, that trilogy with Wilder was tremendously violent and captivating, but it basically hastened the end of the careers of both men. Fury could probably beat most opponents who aren’t Usyk, but he does appear to have lost those extra few percent that made him so dominant. That said, I don’t for even one second believe he is actually retired yet.

USYK, BETERBIEV, WILDER AND LOMACHENKO ALSO SHOULD RETIRE SOON

I think Tyson Fury should retire. I also think Oleksandr Usyk should retire soon as well – like take on the winner of Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker to become undisputed, then have a farewell match close to his home and retire this year. 

I think Artur Beterbiev, win or lose, should retire after his rematch with Dmitry Bivol. I think Deontay Wilder and Vasiliy Lomachenko should be done as well. How many of these guys, including Tyson Fury, will choose health over the boxing high, though? 

In team sports, when you no longer perform at a high level, you are forced to retire because you cannot compete for a roster spot anymore. In individual sports, there needs to be a realization you are done. In combat sports, self-destruction is far more common than self-realization is. I am tired of seeing boxers I have watched in their primes become shells of themselves.

Kieran Mulvaney’s response: I’m broadly with you. The tail ends of boxers’ careers – even, and in some ways especially, those that have been tremendously successful – can be challenging to navigate and watch. I’m often very much on the side of retiring earlier than later, and I also would like to see all four of the men you mentioned follow that path. 

I can see Usyk doing exactly as you suggest, and the vibes from Lomachenko seem to be that he is on the cusp of hanging them up, too. I’m worried about Wilder continuing, as he has looked the very definition of a shot fighter in his last two outings. Of the four you named, he strikes me as by far the most likely to be harmed by continuing boxing.  

I think Fury could remain competitive with, or even be favored over, almost all heavyweights. In isolation, I’d say that he shouldn’t have to retire just because he lost to the best heavyweight of his generation. But he won’t get another shot at Usyk, he is already richer than God, and he does appear to be declining, so why continue? 

That said, it isn’t my life or my decision, and Fury in particular seems to suffer real mental health issues when he isn’t in the ring. The problem in boxing is that there will always be someone who encourages a boxer to continue even when all the evidence suggests they shouldn’t, as long as there’s a buck to be made.

DEONTAY WILDER COULD DO MUCH BETTER THAN FACING CURTIS HARPER

Matt Christie’s response: There would unquestionably be better options for Deontay Wilder if he hadn’t looked truly atrocious in his last two fights. And I understand your sentiment; for us poor fans on the opposite side of the ropes merely watching the punches rather than taking them, Wilder versus an unknown is not exactly mouthwatering.

But Wilder is currently looking out for himself, and justifiably so. Plucking Curtis Harper from obscurity speaks to Wilder treading carefully while being acutely aware that the end is nigh. Without a victory to shout about, even Turki Alalshikh would struggle to justify matching Wilder with another leading contender.

Frankly, Wilder would be insane to go from getting knocked silly by Zhilei Zhang to facing someone like Martin Bakole, an opponent who would surely do the same to the Bronze Bomber at this stage of his career.

Harper is archetypal comeback fodder. His role here is to get spectacularly knocked out and give Wilder some of his old confidence back. Add another KO to the trusty old highlight reel and suddenly his options increase – that’s how heavyweight boxing works.

There is no guarantee that will happen given how poor Wilder looked in his most recent outings – and when a boxer appears that shot, and they still want to fight, it’s something of a relief when they’re not being thrown in with someone who could leave them seriously hurt. Personally speaking, however, the best option of all for Wilder is retirement.

NOT BOTHERED BY NAOYA INOUE VS. YE JOON KIM

Sam Goodman was a credible opponent. He can’t fight [due to his injury], and Naoya Inoue has to stay busy. Inoue should not be waiting around for an opponent, and it is short notice, so no one will take that fight. Crappy fight for his fans, but I’d rather a fighter stay active. Look at the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence rematch that never took place.

Tris Dixon’s response: I agree. I’d rather we get Inoue out early this year and that the fight sets him up and gets him rolling into an active 2025. We know the importance of activity, but there’s also an importance of spending a week or two in the spotlight that being in a big fight gives you.

And we know Ye Joon Kim was waiting in the wings in case anything happened to Goodman, the same way TJ Doheny was on hand and on the bill ahead of Inoue’s fight with Luis Nery last May in case anything happened to Nery. I like it that the Japanese promoters have fighters on standby so the show goes on.

In fact, I wish more if not every promoter had backup plans and fighters training in reserve, so we aren’t left in limbo if someone can’t make it to a fight. Remember when Vitali Klitschko came in for Kirk Johnson at short notice to fight Lennox Lewis? What a great late-notice upgrade that was. Inoue-Kim is not that, but it is better than nothing.

ARTUR BETERBIEV IS MORE ACTIVE THAN HE’S BEEN IN A LONG TIME

I was having a glance at Artur Beterbiev’s BoxRec page, and this rematch with Dmitry Bivol is his quickest turnaround fight [about four and a half months] since he went from Alvaro Enriquez to Tavoris Cloud back in 2014 [Note: About five weeks separated those fights. There were also relatively short gaps between many of Beterbiev’s other appearances in 2014 and 2015 ]. He’s been a once-a-year fighter for a while now. Will this aid him or be a detriment?

Tom Ivers’ response: Any fighter will tell you that inactivity is a serious problem. It stops momentum and can almost make you feel like you’re not part of the sport when you’re sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else fight. In the case of Artur Beterbiev, his inactivity has mostly been down to him suffering serious injuries in his last few training camps. 

Going into the rescheduled first fight with Dmitry Bivol, Beterbiev was recovering from a torn meniscus. I have no idea how much sparring or pressure he would have been able to put on his injured knee during training, and I would be very surprised if he was anywhere near 100 percent on fight night.

Prior to his clash with Bivol, Beterbiev had to postpone his title defense against Callum Smith due to a bone infection in his jaw. Again, I’m sure this would have affected his preparations for the rescheduled date against Smith. Regardless of the injuries and inactivity, Beterbiev has always found a way to perform on fight night. The very best find a way to switch on under the bright lights.

For the rematch, with Beterbiev active for once and reportedly injury-free, I see a much better version turning up. Staying active is what every fighter desires, and I feel like it can’t possibly hinder the performance of Beterbiev. Let’s hope Beterbiev stays injury-free in the next few weeks and we get to see both men at their best on fight night.

TEOFIMO LOPEZ IS A HYPOCRITE FOR TURNING DOWN SUBRIEL MATIAS

David Greisman’s response: This has been one of my favorite – and by “favorite” I mean “most maddening” – types of excuses we’ve heard from various fighters over the years. It’s all too common for a boxer to denigrate an opponent many people want him to face but then face someone even worse off.

For example, Gervonta Davis in 2017 said Vasiliy Lomachenko wasn’t enough of an attraction at the box office, though that didn’t stop Tank from going on to face the likes of Jesus Cuellar, Hugo Ruiz and Ricardo Nunez. (For the record, because I know both fanbases get very protective of their fighters, I think both Davis and Lomachenko shoulder the blame for that fight not happening over the years.)

And what about Canelo Alvarez saying in 2022 that David Benavidez had accomplished “nothing” at super middleweight aside from beating one titleholder in Anthony Dirrell, even though Benavidez had done more at 168 than future opponents such as John Ryder, Jaime Munguia and Edger Berlanga.

So yes, Lopez sounds quite hypocritical for turning down Matias as unworthy when Matias, a former titleholder, is far more worthy than Claggett was.

It’s wholly possible that Lopez knows he needs to do better now, that he needs to pick better fights than the Claggetts of the world, and better even than opponents like Matias. It would certainly be ideal for the lineal junior welterweight champion and WBO titleholder to take on unification bouts with Hitchins, Alberto Puello or Jose Valenzuela, or any of the other top contenders.

Of course, you and I and so many others have plenty of reasons to doubt this is Lopez’s logic. He’s looking for reasons to turn down fights in general, and this fight in particular. And that’s a shame. Because while there are more important matches than a fight with Matias, this would be a good fight for Lopez.

Lopez has struggled with opponents who box and move. Matias is an all-action fighter. Lopez vs. Matias would be a fun fight. And that could help put Lopez back in fans’ good graces. It would get him active again. It would help him become more of the attraction that he already feels he is. And it would be one less fight left on the Top Rank contract that he so desperately wants out of.

ERISLANDY LARA AT LAST IS PUTTING PEOPLE TO SLEEP IN A GOOD WAY

Lucas Ketelle’s response: Erislandy Lara is so good, he spent most of his career not having to show us that. It is clear that Lara in his 40s no longer has the same legs he once did, but he still has the power. One could make an argument that he is the best middleweight right now and a pound-for-pound fighter, but it is also hard to justify a fighter in the twilight of their career being looked at in such a way.

Middleweight is an alright division but has lacked compelling matchups. IBF and WBO titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly is solid. Hamzah Sheeraz has the feeling of being a breakout star, but 160lbs has felt barren in the years since Gennadiy Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez left the division. 

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.