Tyson Fury issues retirement update after Bob Arum hints at Joshua or Usyk showdown

Tyson Fury insists that he will remain retired despite comments from his US Promoter Bob Arum suggesting otherwise. The Gypsy King announced that he would be stepping away from the sport after knocking out Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April.

But recent comments from Top Ranks’ Arum suggested Fury would be willing to unretire to fight the winner of Usyk vs Joshua II for the undisputed heavyweight crown. However, the lineal heavyweight champion has come out to dispel the rumours in a recent Instagram post.

He said: “Second session of the day. Smashing it! Come on, guys! I’ve just read today that I am supposed to be coming out of retirement. That is news to me. As far as I am concerned, I’m staying!”

This update comes after Arum told Fight Hype: “Tyson Fury is retired and he will be retired until we come to him with the next big event and then he will unretire. Well, I think Fury is going to wait to see how the [Anthony] Joshua fight comes out with [Oleksandr] Usyk, and then he’ll make a determination whether he wants to continue. Other than fighting the winner of Joshua vs Usyk, there’s really nothing that’s really of interest to Tyson Fury, so we will have to see.”

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The only other fight that Fury has expressed interest in after his retirement is a hybrid boxing match in four-ounce MMA gloves against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou with both men verbally agreeing to the contest during an ESPN interview.

Top Rank president Todd DuBoef is far less confident than Arum on Fury’s return and told Sky Sports during a recent interview that “there is nothing to be talked about”.

“I think there is obviously a lot brewing about the rematch between AJ and Usyk,” DuBoef told Sky Sports. “Obviously that has always been on his and everybody’s target, but I think at this point there is nothing to be talked about because he hasn’t determined what he wants to do.

“Maybe the winner, when that fight happens, can pull him out, or maybe something else can be motivational like Ngannou. We saw Francis Ngannou get in the ring and it was kind of bizarre that the guy was retiring but the MMA heavyweight champion was getting in the ring to talk smack – which one are we doing here?

“But is it going to be he just sits in the South of France on the beach there and enjoys it? That again, I am speaking for him and that is a difficult position for me to be in to speak on what his feelings are.”