Tyson Fury has claimed for the umpteenth time that he is retiring from boxing after his second consecutive loss.
The Brit was undefeated before the start of 2024, but ended the year on the back of a pair of losses to Oleksandr Usyk, the first of which was for undisputed heavyweight gold. And it was expected that he may give fans one more big fight against Anthony Joshua this year before hanging up the gloves.
However, it now looks as though he isn’t going to get that chance as he has opted to quit boxing. Fans, though, are not fully convinced that he is serious as this is one of countless Fury retirements over the years.
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Tyson Fury ‘retires from boxing’ in abrupt social media statement
Tyson Fury took to social media this afternoon to announce that he will be quitting boxing after a 16-year professional career. The Manchester native has had an iconic career that has seen him become heavyweight champion twice, winning all of the belts although separately in different runs.
“Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” he said in a video posted across his social media channels that has instantly gone viral. “I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing, it’s been a blast, I’ve loved every single minute of it.”
He then left a bizarre finishing stanza to the video, adding: “I’m going to end with this; Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, see you on the other side. Get up!”
The phrase ‘at least Dick Turpin wore a mask’ harkens back to 18th century highwayman and burglar Dick Turpin. It is generally used when describing someone robbing you, and has been replaced in colloquialism with more crude terms in recent years.
Fury’s retirements in the past have all been publicity stunts, and it is believed that this may be a similar situation.
Tyson Fury was upset with judging in Oleksandr Usyk defeats
Both times that Fury and Usyk fought this year, the judges were left with the unenviable task of picking a winner as they made it to the final bell. The first bout was a more contentious split decision, while it was generally believed that the Ukrainian had done enough in the second.
However, the Brit disagreed with that assessment, insisting after the fact that he deserved the win. In footage caught immediately after the fight by IFL TV, Fury, flanked by his son Prince, asked his former trainer Ben Davison what he thought about the fight.
His former trainer told him that: “I thought it was dead tight, I thought you were going to get it if I’m honest.” The former champion then gave his take, telling the cameras and Davison “I swear to God, I thought I won it by at least three rounds.”
He then walked off, with the coach advising the IFL cameras to leave them to speak off camera. There has since been further footage where he blamed judges in Saudi Arabia for making the wrong call, claiming it is harder to get decisions in the Middle East.
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