Tyson Fury announced he’s retiring from boxing. Not everyone believes him
The boxing world was handed a shock on Monday when former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury announced his retirement from the sport … again.
In a 17-second video posted on Instagram, Fury said: “Hi everybody, I’ll make this short and sweet, I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing.
“It’s been a blast and I’ve loved every single minute of it. I’m going to end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, I’ll see you on the other side.”
Dick Turpin was an English robber and highwayman whose criminal activities gained him notoriety in the early eighteenth century. It’s unclear what Fury was implying with the reference.
The 36-year-old’s announcement came just weeks after he lost his highly-anticipated rematch against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk for the WBA, WBC and WBO world titles.
The Ukrainian won that fight 116-112 on all three of the judges’ scorecards – much to the displeasure of the Fury camp.
Usyk handed Fury the only professional defeats of the British fighter’s rollercoaster career, one which has involved incredible comebacks and a total 34 wins and one draw.
News of such an influential boxer retiring might usually be met with a larger reaction from the community, only this isn’t the first time that Fury has retired from the sport.
In April 2022, he said he would retire after beating Dillian Whyte, only to return to the ring six months later. He also announced retirements in 2013 and 2017.
Retiring for good?
The big question on everyone’s mind is whether Fury will stay retired this time. If you look at the comments under his retirement video, not many people seem to think so.
Despite losing his last two fights to Usyk, he remains one of the biggest characters in boxing and a huge draw for both fans and promotors.
Fury’s latest defeat to Usyk set up the possibility of a titanic all-British clash with Anthony Joshua, a fight which has been talked about for years.
The announcement on Monday now throws that potential fight into question, but Eddie Hearn – Joshua’s promoter – isn’t certain we’ve seen the last of Fury.
He hopes that the draw of facing Joshua in what would be one of the biggest fights in British boxing history might persuade Fury to fight again.
“You’ve got to want it. You’ve got to want to provide the British public with the biggest fight in the history of the sport. You’ve got to want to go to war with AJ (Anthony Joshua) and get that victory. If it’s just a money thing, you’ve got enough money,” Heard told BBC Sport in wake of Fury’s announcement.
“I’m always an optimist. For me, when that fight with AJ is a fight that can be made in two minutes in a room, I am always hopeful. But Tyson Fury’s earned the right to make his own decisions. If he’s done, he’s done. If not, then we make the biggest fight in the history of the sport. Only time will tell.
“If Fury doesn’t want the fight, there’s nothing you can do. You can’t drag him into the fight. I don’t know whether this was a move to stop the flow of pressure because with AJ calling him out, pressure is mounting.”
Fury’s manager, Spencer Brown, said the announcement came as a “huge shock” to him.
“I think he’s just thought, ‘That’s it.’” Brown told former boxing champion George Groves. “He makes those decisions and I’m sure that will be it. Never say never but this time I can’t see it changing.”
CNN has contacted Fury’s management company for further comment on the retirement decision.
How the heavyweight division stands
With Fury gone – for the moment – and Joshua recovering from his fourth career defeat, the heavyweight division is in a state of flux at the start of 2025.
Usyk holds three of the divisions belts while Britan’s Daniel Dubois holds the IBF title.
Dubois will put his belt on the line for the second time on February 22 against New Zealand’s Joseph Parker and has previously called for a unification fight against Usyk in the future.
As for Usyk, who defeated Dubois via knockout in 2023, the 37-year-old has said he’s having a break from boxing while he sees how the rest of the division falls around him.
He has also teased a possible return to the cruiserweight division having previously won world titles at the lower weight class.
