After a flurry of headlines and social media posts letting the world know that Tyson Fury would be fighting fit in the near future, there was an announcement to contradict all of this. While the former heavyweight champion of the world is known for psyching out the opposition before a big fight, the confusion around whether or not he will actually make a comeback has confounded commentators worldwide.
In June, The Gypsy King announced that he would be returning to the ring one hundred percent. This was after he announced in April that he was retiring after successfully defending his WBC crown when he defeated Dyllian White in the sixth round at Wembley. At the end of July, the Daily Mirror laid out in an article who he would be fighting against over the next five fights for a rematch against Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk.
Then on Friday 12th August the news changed again. In a social media post on Tyson’s 34th birthday, he posted on Twitter:
“MASSIVE THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAD AN INPUT IN MY CAREER OVER THE YEARS & AFTER LONG HARD CONVERSATIONS IV FINALLY DECIDED TO WALK AWAY & ON MY 34th BIRTHDAY I SAY Bon voyage”.
He then went on to thank everyone who had helped him over the years, including Frank Warren, his dad, and his brothers, so it seems that the announcement was not a hoax this time.
This was reaffirmed in a subsequent tweet in which he thanked his wife, Paris.
“SORRY IF I MISSED U THERES TO MANY TO NAME! MASSIVE SHOUTOUT TO @parisfury1 WHO HELPED ME MORE THAN ANYONE. & MOST OF ALL THANKYOU GOD. SEE YOU ALL ON THE OTHER SIDE YOU BIG DOSSERS. 2008-2022”.
From all of this, it does seem that this time he means it and that no amount of money will lure him back. However, it is never that black and white with Fury. Anyone with access to the most popular betting apps might be tempted to go and find out the odds on someone luring him out of retirement based on what his promoters said after the announcement.
His UK promoter Frank Warren remains optimistic that he will be back. In a report on Sky Sports, he said
“I speak to him all the time. If he wants to fight, he’ll fight. I’m not going to tempt him. Because if he needs that then he shouldn’t be fighting. It’s got to come from him and his heart. Do I think we’ll see Tyson in a ring [again]? I do because I think he’s a fighting man and I think he’ll miss it too much. The fans love him. He’s got a real rapport with the man on the street. He’s a different class. And he’ll do what he wants to do.”
Looking at Fury’s recent social media posts, what he wants to do is to offer Anthony Joshua some advice for his bout against Oleksandr Usyk and enjoy trying out some fast cars. There is no evidence that he intends to make a U-turn. However, his US-based promoter is still not convinced. He is reported as saying,
‘Fury’s retirement statement or unretirement statement depends on the weather and how he wakes up in the morning. I don’t take it too seriously.”
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, on the other hand, said that the WBC fully supports Tyson’s decision and understands why he would want to retire as the undefeated WBC champion. He said they would be organizing a special farewell event for the boxer soon.
All in all, it is hard to tell whether Fury has genuinely retired this time or not. It could be that he has retired from professional boxing but will be willing to take on exhibition bouts like Floyd Merryweather, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield have done recently. Late in July, he promised to knock out Thor Bjornsson as they held talks over a possible exhibition match.
