By: Sean Crose
There’s a lot of talk lately about Tyson Fury returning to face Anthony Joshua in a massive showdown between massive Brits. While it’s true both men have been bested by Oleksandr Usyk twice, a Fury-Joshua battle would still be quite a big deal. Yet in a recent social media post, Fury, who announced his retirement after his second loss to Usyk, makes it clear he aims to stay retired.
“Good morning people,” he says over beautiful Italian imagery. “I hear a lot of talk about ‘The Gypsy King’ returning to boxing and I ask this question first of all: for what? What would I return for? More belts? I’ve won 22 of them. I’ve been rumped, that’s it, fair play to them. They got their use out of me, but I’m happy. I am happy, content with what I’ve done, what I have achieved and what I have accomplished.”
The former WBC heavyweight titlist then pointed out the beauty of Lake Cuomo, where the video was being recorded. “I’ve been around the world and back again,” he says, “and here we are. This is what retirement looks like for the Gypsy King. Not too shabby. I’m in no rush at all to come back to boxing and get my face punched in. For what? What would I return for? I ask that question. So here we are, I am retired and I am staying retired. I have nothing to prove to anybody and nothing to return for. God bless you all.”
This likely comes as bad news for Joshua, who was last seen in the ring receiving a one sided thrashing from Daniel Dubois. Although he’s past his heyday, Joshua would be able to have one more stellar payday should Fury agree to fight him. Now, though, Fury has said loud and clear that he’s not interested.
Of course Fury has been known to say a lot of things. He’s also been retired before. In other words it wouldn’t be too big of a surprise is Fury we’re to eventually decide to return. How much more time do he and Joshua have, though, before a bout between them would be less than relevant? Perhaps not much. No one can fault Fury if he indeed does remain out of the ring from here on out. The man has accomplished more than most expected him to. Add that to the enormous amount of money he’s made and it’s little wonder why he’s decided to call it a career.
