Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua looked set to finally face off this year, though that now appears to be off the table entirely.
Fury tasted defeat for the first time in his career in May of 2024, being outpointed by elite Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk to lose in his bid to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis.
The big Brit immediately triggered his rematch clause and enjoyed a more productive and less disruptive training camp, but couldn’t reverse the result in their December return fight. Usyk’s movement and output proved to be the deciding factor on the way to a unanimous decision win.
All talk has since turned to a showdown with Joshua. The Battle of Britain has eluded fans for many years but given both men are coming off defeats – ‘AJ’ to Daniel Dubois, round 5 KO – and the fact that they are out of the title picture for now, the stars seemed to be aligning.
Whilst Joshua has confirmed that he is all in for the long-awaited grudge match, Fury has been so far quiet on the proposal. That was until today, when he took to Instagram to announce his immediate retirement from the sport of boxing.
-“Hi everybody. I’m going to make this short and sweet. 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. Get up.”
The phrase ‘Dick Turpin wore a mask’ refers to the famous British highwayman having the decency to conceal his identity when committing robbery. Whilst it could be read into as financial, Fury has been open about the fact he feels he did not get a fair shake in either of the Usyk bouts.
Fans will note that Fury has retired from the sport twice in the past, once after his historic Wladimir Klitschko win and again after he defeated Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium.
