Tyson Fury turns back on £100m Joshua fight by announcing retirement
Tyson Fury appears to have turned his back on a £100m windfall by announcing his retirement from boxing in the wake of a second defeat by Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury, 36, made the shock statement in a short video clip posted to Instagram on Monday, just three weeks after he lost to Usyk in a controversial points decision in Riyadh.
“I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing,” said the former world heavyweight champion.
“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.”
The Dick Turpin reference is believed to relate to his belief that he was robbed by the judges when losing to WBA (Super), WBC and WBO champion Usyk last month.
Fury’s move seems to rule out a long-awaited all-British superfight with Anthony Joshua just days after promoter Eddie Hearn said he had booked Wembley for the clash this summer.
In April, Hearn claimed that both fighters could earn £100m each from the bout. Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn quickly cast doubt on Fury’s announcement.
“It’s disappointing because we’ve got a chance to make the biggest fight in British boxing,” he said.
“But if that is the last we see of him – I doubt it; it’s always best to come into retirement to make sure someone pays you to come out of retirement – but if that’s his lot, much respect to him.”
Fury previously announced his retirement in 2022 after retaining the WBC heavyweight crown against Dillian Whyte but was back in action six months later.
“I’ve been in this game 20 years, I’m 34 in a few months,” he said at the time. “I said the third Wilder fight would be my last, but I felt I owed the fans one last homecoming. This is definitely the end of the Gypsy King and I went out with a bang.”
If Fury stands by his retirement, Hearn said Joshua would target the winner of next month’s fight between his most recent conqueror Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker.