A month after losing to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch on December 21, British heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury has once again declared his retirement from the sport. In a short video posted to his Instagram account on Monday, January 13, Fury, 36, made the unexpected revelation. In it, he expressed his gratitude for his career and made reference to Dick Turpin, an English highway robber from the 18th century.
"Hi everybody, I'm going to make this short and sweet. I'd like to announce my retirement from boxing. 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," Fury said in the video.
Fury made a vague allusion to Turpin, a notorious character in British history, without giving a precise explanation.
Tyson Fury retires after loss against Usyk
After losing to Usyk in Saudi Arabia by unanimous decision, Fury made his decision to retire again. Usyk landed 179 punches out of 423 (42%), while Fury landed 144 out of 509 (28%). Fury, who lost their first fight earlier in May, had been upset over the verdict and had admitted to his flaws during the fight, including showboating.
Fans had hoped that Fury and fellow Brit Anthony Joshua would fight, but Fury's retirement now casts doubt on those plans. Although Fury had previously hinted at his retirement following his knockout of Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April 2022, particularly on his 34th birthday in August 2022, he only made a comeback to the ring two months later. Following that, he defeated Derek Chisora and Francis Ngannou in two more bouts before losing to Usyk.
With 24 knockouts, 34 victories, 2 defeats, and 1 draw, Fury has an impressive career record. His otherwise impressive career, which started in 2008 and included a draw with American boxer Deontay Wilder in 2018, is marred only by the defeats to Usyk. Usyk, the current Male Fighter of the Year winner from Ring magazine, thanked the two boxers on social media for their mutual respect. "My friend, greedy belly, thank you so much, you (are) great my opponent," Usyk wrote.
Despite being uncertain, Fury's retirement signifies the end of an important period in British boxing history.