One year ago nearly to the day, NY Fights reported the announced retirement of former unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury of England. We rhetorically asked with a heaping of skepticism whether it would stick any better than the four prior retirement announcements.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice – or five times – shame on me. We weren’t going to let that happen.
Ahem. On Sunday, January 4, Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) posted the inevitable announcement on his Instagram account. Fury is back. Please read our headline with the appropriate level of sarcasm.
“2026 is that year, return of the mac. Been away for a while but I’m back now, 37 years old and still punching. Nothing better to do than punch men in the face and get paid for it.”
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Fury has posted numerous training clips of himself in the gym, teasing his return. Recently, he’s been seen sparring with South African cruiserweight and sometimes heavyweight Kevin Lerena. Lerena was among Fury’s sparring partners, preparing him for his fights with Oleksander Usyk, as he is close in size to Usyk.
All of the posts plus the assertion by Turki Alalshikh’s Ring Magazine of talks regarding a 2026 bout with Anthony Joshua has kept fans buzzing. If he’s to be believed, fan anticipation is being rewarded.
Fifth Retirement Ends After One Year
One year ago, Fury, age 37, made the surprise announcement about his retirement for the fifth time in his career. It came after his second loss to unified heavyweight world champion Usyk of Ukraine (23-0, 14 KOs). Even his manager Spencer Brown and promoter Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions said at the time it caught them unaware.
Warren said he supported Fury wholeheartedly in the decision. He admitted as a fan, he said he didn’t want to see Fury fight again if he didn’t want to do so. “It’s not like he’s a washed-up fighter. He’s going out at the very top … He’s the very best of his generation. He’s up there with all the greats of the past.”
Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn expressed support – but with a good dose of reasonable skepticism given Fury’s track record of repeated retirements and returns.
“Who knows? We’ve been here before. If that’s the end for him, good luck. He’s had a great career, made a lot of money.
“Disappointed, of course, for British fans and sports fans. I feel like the time is now to make that fight quite easily If his heart’s not in it anymore, it’s a dangerous sport and it’s time to get out. The cynic in me will always believe it could be a negotiation tactic. But perhaps not,” said Hearn.
Hearn turns out to be right. We were, too, if you review our take from the announcement one year ago. Just consider Fury’s track record, which we’d be foolish to disregard.
Sound and Fury
The early 2025 announcement was the fifth time over the past 11 years that the 36-year-old Fury has declared he is retired from boxing. He has returned every single time.
Fury first “retired” in September 2013, frustrated after a planned fight with David Haye was cancelled for the second time due to injuries suffered by Haye. As with the most recent announcement, Fury posted the news to social media, making sure he’d been heard by repeating the news the following day.
He then doubled down the next day: “Just to confirm I’m not in a bad mood or anything. I’ve retired 1000000% no matter what I’ll never fight again!”
Fury was back in the ring in just three months, beating Joey Abell on February 15, 2014.
Two and a half years later, Fury pulled out of a scheduled rematch with Wladimir Klitschko following his shocking upset victory. He vacated the WBA and WBO titles he won, and said he needed to address his mental health. Just hours later, Fury posted on X/Twitter, “You think you will get rid of the Gypsy King that easy!!! I’m here to stay.”
Nine days later, Fury admitted a problem with cocaine addiction. The UK Anti-Doping organization opened an investigation, and the British Boxing Board of Control suspended Fury’s license. This one seemed it might stick.
But the BBBofC resolved the drug offenses and reinstated Fury’s license in 2018. Fury returned in May 2018, beating Sefer Seferi in a blowout KO win.
From this point forward, Fury went on a roll, winning two of three fights decisively over WBC World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder with two spectacular beatdowns ending in stoppages following a draw secured when Fury got off the canvas after seemingly knocked out cold.
Fury defended the WBC title he won against Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium on April 23, 2022, saying he’d fulfilled everything he ever wanted to fulfill. But once again, Fury returned to the ring to fight Derek Chisora for the third time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 3, 2022. In the meantime, he repeatedly called out Joshua.
Lure of a Fury vs Joshua Matchup
The fight with Joshua had lost some luster after the former champion suffered back-to-back losses to Usyk in 2022. Joshua’s much-improved performance in the rematch reignited interest in the matchup.
While Joshua went on a rebuilding tour against Jermain Franklin, Robert Helenius, and Otto Wallin, Fury ended up in a stunt fight against MMA great Francis Ngannou. Ngannou was shockingly competitive, dropping Fury and narrowly losing.
Suddenly, Joshua’s resurgence met Fury’s tarnishing, and the pair seemed on a level playing field. But instead of fighting each other, Joshua took on Ngannou and drilled him in a knockout of the year performance.
Unified champion Usyk took on Fury as the underdog, but after two solid victories including Usyk’s definitive victory on December 23, Fury’s only realistic path seemed to lead to Joshua, who in the meantime suffered his own devastating loss to underdog Daniel Dubois.
The boxing world felt confident it would finally get to see its long-awaited, slightly overcooked contest between Fury and Joshua. But as of today, there are apparently no discussions or hopes for it happening.
Nine months. Two years and seven months. Eight months. Six months. This time, an entire year.
Fury Belongs In Boxing
The takeaway of Sunday’s announcement? Boxing is better with Tyson Fury in it. The belief that boxing’s health rests with the health of the heavyweight division has a lot of truth to it. Fury is an exciting, polarizing, often thrilling performer. He’s exactly what boxing needs.
Fury himself has often said he was born to fight, in a family of fighters.
In 2019 before his fight with Tom Schwartz in Las Vegas, Fury said “I was down and out. The Gypsy King was finished, but I dusted myself off and got back on the road. We worked hard to get to this position. To take a big fight with Wilder and be back again in Las Vegas, it’s a dream come true.
“I am living my dream and that’s why I’m always so happy and positive, I’m one of the only few people who can say that.
“As a kid, I wanted to be heavyweight champion of the world, and I achieved that in 2015, so now everything is a bonus.”
After brushing off the increasingly loud chatter about a fight with Joshua to catch his breath, Fury knew he would be welcomed back with a bargaining chip in his pocket.
Joshua’s recent fourth-round knockout win over Jake Paul drew a huge audience of 33 million viewers and served as Joshua’s announcement that he was ready to get back into action. This didn’t go unnoticed by Team Fury.
Unfortunately, the devastating automobile accident in Nigeria, injuring Joshua, has changed the narrative. The timing seems a bit insensitive by Fury, knowing that Joshua’s return will inevitably be delayed. Will Fury take a tune-up fight in the meantime? It seems a wise and profitable idea.
Hold off on travel plans or block out the dates on your calendar until you see Fury at a news conference held by Queensberry with an official date and location.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.