Former world heavyweight champ Tyson Fury has made his stance on retirement crystal clear despite back-to-back losses against Oleksandr Usyk.
The Mancunian lost his pristine record to Usyk in May 2024 after a split-decision defeat. The 36-year-old boxing phenomenon then failed to get redemption in their rematch last month, with the result even more in Usyk’s favour this time.
Retirement rumours have naturally begun swirling, considering Fury’s age and dashed ambitions for undisputed glory. Still, he’s strongly hinted he’s not quite ready to hang up his gloves.
READ: EXCLUSIVE – Tyson Fury retirement fears quashed as epic Wembley superfight is coming
Shortly after his latest defeat in Saudi Arabia, Fury signalled his intent to reporters as he said: “What’s next for me? I’m going home and having some time off.” When quizzed about whether fans would see him in the ring again, he responded: “You might do, you might not. Who knows? We’ll talk about that next year.”
These comments left fans guessing at what the Wythenshawe native’s next move could be after a challenging year. But recent reports from The Sun (via The Mirror US) revealed he’s confided in friends, saying: “It’s not over.”
Fury is no stranger to stepping away from boxing; it has been over a decade since his initial retirement announcement in November 2013. ‘The Gypsy King’ cut a frustrated figure after his fight with David Haye fell through for a second time.
“Hi everyone, I have officially retired from boxing,” he posted on X (then Twitter). “There’s too many bent [crooked] people in the sport. They will have to f— someone else. Goodbye boxing.”
This declaration turned out to be fleeting as he faced Joey Abell in the ring just three months later. He maintained a steady career trajectory for some years after that, albeit with a three-year break from boxing between 2015 and 2018 amid his mental health battle.
After defeating Dillian Whyte at Wembley with a sixth-round finish in 2022, he announced his retirement again. He mentioned that he had made a promise to his wife Paris to retire after besting Whyte, stating: “I’m a two-time undisputed world champion. [I have] £150m in the bank and nothing to prove to anybody.”
Yet again, his assertion was shown to be insincere when he returned to the ring to fight Derek Chisora eight months later. Since then, he has fought thrice more, although two of those bouts resulted in losses to ‘The Cat’.
It’s not unusual for Fury to change his plans abruptly, indicating a significant change could always be around the corner. However, despite recent hiccups, all indications point towards his boxing career continuing into 2025.
