It’s not the first time that Tyson Fury has announced his intention to retire from boxing. Will the “Gypsy King” really do it this time?
When he surprisingly dethroned Wladimir Klitschko as world champion of the WBA, IBF and WBO associations in Düsseldorf in 2015, it wasn’t long before Tyson Fury took his first creative break. In 2016, the Brit returned all of his world championship belts and later explained that depression and drugs were the reason for his retirement. During his absence from the ring, the scandalous boxer mainly made headlines for doping offenses and drug use. Fury was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Fury feels cheated
The “Gypsy King” returned to the ring in mid-2018 and slowly boxed his way back to the top. He defeated knockout monster Deontay Wilder twice, among others, and captured the WBC belt in the process. In 2022, after his victory against Dillian Whyte, Fury announced his retirement again. Only to return to the ring at the end of the year against Derek Chisora.
After his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on December 21, 2024, Fury felt cheated out of victory, but he was pretty much alone in this opinion. The 36-year-old Brit has now announced his retirement from prizefighting once again on Instagram. “I’ll keep this short and sweet. I would like to announce my retirement from boxing. It’s been a blast. I’ve loved every single minute of it,” Fury shared.
It remains speculative whether the fighter from Morecambe is only pretending to leave again in order to increase his market value after his recent failures. A possible “Battle of Britain” against compatriot Anthony Joshua is still of great interest in the boxing world, as his promoter Eddie Hearn recently confirmed.
“Tricks and deceptions”
At the end of his brief video message, Fury gave his fans a cryptic reference: “Dick Turpin wore a mask after all.” Turpin is a fictional character whose stories are set in 18th century England and can be found in various works of literature, music and the like. “After he is betrayed by the authorities, he becomes an avenger on his own behalf and a fighter against injustice towards other citizens,” says Wikipedia. “He often plays dual roles as a normal citizen and a highwayman. In addition to descriptions of fights, the stories are also based on jokes, tricks and deceptions.”
Does Fury see himself as deceived and cheated like Dick Turpin? Or is he the one who is once again deceiving and tricking? That remains to be seen, but the ex-champ will certainly comment on this in the near future.
Text: Frank Schwantes
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