Many fans believe former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will retire if he loses his rematch with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Temptation of a Joshua Payday
The temptation obviously would be there for Fury, 36, to stay on after a second loss to Usyk to get that big payday against Anthony Joshua next year. You can’t rule out the greed factor with Fury because an extra $100 million+ would help feather his retirement nest.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has already told the media that Fury and Joshua can still fight, even if they lose their semi-final matches. Fury might not want to take him up on his offer because of his pride.
The purse that Fury could get fighting Joshua would be enormous, and it would be tempting for him to take the fight, even if he is coming off a humiliating knockout loss to Usyk in December.
Getting reduced to dust by Usyk on December 21st will be a bitter pill for Fury to swallow because it was only four months ago that he was seen as the best heavyweight on the planet. That label was obviously as we saw in Fury’s poor performance against Usyk, looking as bad as he had in some of his other fights and being saved by the referee on duty similarly.
A Knockout Loss Could Be the Final Straw
A KO defeat for Fury against the unbeaten Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) might be the final straw for the proud ‘Gypsy King,’ who was saved from being stopped by the referee in this first fight against Oleksandr on May 18th. Most people believe Fury would have been knocked out in the ninth round.
For the rematch, it’s highly improbable that a referee will step in to give Fury a standing eight found if he gets hurt and is being shelled to pieces by Usyk against the ropes. A referee won’t want to put himself on the line of being seen saving Fury from another knockout and then dealing with the backlash.
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) is already quite rich, with an estimated net worth of $140 million, which will likely be bumped to over $200 million. He doesn’t need the extra money he will get for a fight against Joshua. So perhaps Fury will choose the retirement route if he gets badly beaten and knocked out by Usyk.
Last Updated on 09/07/2024
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