Tyson Fury, two-time former world heavyweight champion, has announced his retirement from boxing. Fury posted a short message on social media making the announcement on Monday, just weeks after losing his rematch to Oleksandr Usyk for the unified heavyweight championship.
“Hey everyone, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” Fury said. “I would like to announce my retirement from boxing. It’s been great. I loved every minute of it and I’ll end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless you, everyone, see you on the other side. Get up.”
“At least Dick Turpin wore a mask” is a British idiom referring to an English bandit from the 1700s, implying that at least he had the sense to hide his identity while taking people’s money.
Fury won the IBF, WBA and WBO titles with a victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, becoming world champion for the first time. His time as champion did not last between being removed by the IBF for planning to move forward with a contracted rematch with Klitschko rather than facing IBF proxy Vyacheslav Glazkov. After that, the rematch was postponed after Fury made weight and sprained his ankle, followed by a failed drug test.
After dealing with the suspension and subsequent mental health issues, Fury returned to the ring in 2018. He would fight three times that year, with the third fight being a terrific performance against WBC champion Deontay Wilder who saw Fury recover from a brutal knockdown and seemingly win. a victory, even though the scorecards resulted in a split draw.
Fury would beat Wilder in their 2020 rematch to become WBC champion and would also win their 2021 rematch.
The long-awaited fight with Usyk took place in 2024, with Usyk winning a split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era. The loss was Fury’s first as a professional. After losing the rematch last December, Fury claims to have reached the end of the road.
Of course, this is far from the first time Fury has announced his retirement, having previously claimed to retire in 2013, 2017 and 2022.
With a potential fight with fellow British superstar Anthony Joshua still extremely lucrative, it remains to be seen whether this retirement will stick for Fury.
