Tyson Fury came out on social media yesterday with a short but powerful message where he claimed to have retired, yet prior instances of him announcing his retirement has put his most recent revelation in doubt. With a potential fight against Anthony Joshua having been anticipated this year, the possibility of Tyson Fury retiring may be a case of fake news or could signal the collapse of one of British boxing’s most anticipated fights in boxing history.
Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KO’s) has claimed retirement numerous times, with the first-known instance seeing him retire following a prestigious win over Ukrainian legend Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. That instance carried a lot of controversy with Fury having been battling performance-enhancing drug charges by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) while further having withdrawn from a rematch with Klitschko. However, Fury would remain out of the sport for roughly three years from 2015 to 2018, and impressive weight gains further illustrated that he was in fact retired.
However, Fury would eventually make a surprise comeback in 2018 against Sefer Seferi. That same year, Fury would fight Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KO’s) in a memorable yet controversial match that ended in a split-decision (SD) draw.
Following two further memorable contests against Wilder in 2020 and 2021―with the second match resulting in Tyson Fury becoming the WBC world heavyweight (200+ lbs) champion, Fury would announce his retirement not long after recording a stoppage victory over fellow Brit Dillian Whyte (31-3, 21 KO’s) in April of 2022.
That same year in December, Fury returned from “retirement” against old foe Derek Chisora (35-13, 23 KO’s) in a rematch of their 2011 match, only for Fury to claim retirement once more. This would be debunked the next year year as he went on to face Francis Ngannou (0-2, 0 KO’s) in October of 2023 that saw an arguably untrained or/and unfocused Fury struggle with the Cameroonian MMA fighter.
2024 would be known one of Fury’s least fortuitous years as he went on to compete in the ring, only to lose twice to Ukrainian future Hall of Famer Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KO’s)―resulting in him missing out on becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era following their first match in May after losing by unanimous decision (UD). Fury’s most recent contest against Usyk held in December of last year saw him lose again, though this time by a more evenly-sided split-decision.
Not even a month after his second defeat to the Ukrainian champion, Tyson Fury has now come out to announce his retirement through his social media, with the curtness and simplicity of his announcement having raised plenty of doubts as to whether he has truly hung up his gloves:
“Hi everybody! I’m gonna make this short and sweet: I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing,” Fury said in an video posted on Instagram yesterday. “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 only fight where Tyson Fury could seem to end his career on a high note was a highly-anticipated match against former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KO’s)―which could potentially become the biggest all-British heavyweight bout in the history of the sport.
Joshua himself had seemed keen on a Fury fight as he would go on to express during an interview at The Ring gala held this past Saturday on January 11th:
“I’ve had more years behind me [but] I haven’t got that many in front of me, so what I want to do is go leave the game with a bang and make an impact, be outlandish, [be a] great character, have fun while we’re doing it and go for the big fights; Tyson Fury is one of them,” Joshua said.
“Every time I see people they say, ‘when are you fighting Fury?’. As a fighter, it’s up to me to deliver and that’s why I’m saying it has to happen this year. Especially with His Excellency, Turki [Alalshikh], DAZN, Eddie [Hearn], Matchroom [and] 258 [Management] behind me. I think we could definitely make this fight happen.“
Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn was alerted to Fury’s retirement announcement but seemed to doubt the news himself while continuing to maintain a battle between Joshua and Fury could be the biggest fight of 2025
“Who knows,” Eddie Hearn responded after being confronted by Sky Sports on Fury’s retirement post. “We’ve been here before but if that’s the end for him; good luck.
“He had a great career, made a lot of money, [I’m] disappointed of course for British fight fans and sports fans. I felt the time is now to make that [Joshua vs. Fury] fight quite easily, but if the fight has been punched out of [Tyson Fury], if his heart’s not in it anymore… it’s a dangerous sport and it’s time to get out.
“The cynic in me will always believe [Fury’s retirement] could be a negotiation tactic, but perhaps not. And if it’s not, we wish him all the best.“
As always, only time will tell dictate whether the 36-year old “Gypsy King” has actually retired or not. If true, however, Tyson Fury would be leaving a vast and nigh-insurmountable legacy in heavyweight boxing and certainly go down as one of the greatest British heavyweights in the history of the sport.
