By: Sean Crose
“I’m going to make this short and sweet. I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing,” former world titlist Tyson Fury stated on social media Monday. “It’s been a blast. I have loved every single minute of it and I’m going to end with this…Dick Turpin wore a mask!” This is not the first time Fury has retired, or at least announced his retirement. Still, when a figure in the sport of Fury’s stature – both physically and professionally – ounces his or her retirement, it’s time to pay attention.
Fury last saw action back in December when he lost for the second time to Oleksandr Usyk. Seeing as how the Ukrainian is now unquestionably recognized as the top heavyweight in the world, there isn’t much left for Fury to aspire to at this point. The only realistic prospect for a superfight for Fury at the moment is a long awaited showdown with fellow Brit Anthony Joshua. While it’s clear a Fury-Joshua bout would be a big deal – despite the fact that each man has now lost to Usyk on numerous occasion – Fury appears to no longer be interested.
At least for the time being. As things stand, Fury is now entering retirement for around the fourth time in roughly 12 years. And there’s still a lot of money available – at least for a time – if he agrees to fight Anthony Joshua. The same might also be said of Wladimir Klitschko, the man Fury originally won his first world title belts from back in 2015. There have been whispers of the two men having a rematch, after all. If Fury is to be taken at his word, though, there will be no more big pay days, no more interesting matchups. What there will be is some very interesting memories.
Make no mistake about it, Fury has truly left his mark on the fight world. Seen as a showy but perhaps non threatening challenge to longtime titlist Wladimir Klitschko, the towering Englishman surprised a whole lot of people when he decisioned the longstanding champion over nine years ago. From there Fury fell into a world of booze, drugs, food, and depression, only to emerge a new man some time later. After rising off the mat in the final round of a stunning title fight against Deontay Wilder, Fury fought the thunderous punching American to a draw. Two brutal victories over Wilder later, it was clear that either Fury or Joshua (both of whom were currently heavyweight titlists) was king of the division – at least until Usyk came around and bested each man numerous times.
Should he stay retired, Fury will likely be remembered as being one of the more colorful, bombastic, and skilled fighters to ever be a world titlist in the big man’s division. Not a bad legacy to leave.
