Fury announced his retirement earlier this year but there were lingering hopes he would return to fight bitter rival Joshua at Wembley this summer
Tyson Fury has admitted he “can’t be f***ed” with boxing – dealing a blow to Anthony Joshua’s hopes of luring him out of retirement.
Fury hung up his gloves in January, a month after losing his heavyweight rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. It was at least the fifth time he had ‘retired’ during his career, leading to his announcement being taken with a pinch of salt. Boxing fans hopes Fury would be tempted back to the ring for a £200million showdown with bitter rival Joshua.
But according ton boxing trainer Andy Lee, who is also Fury’s cousin, the former world champion has no interest in returning. Asked if he is in touch with Fury, Lee told iFL TV:
“[It’s] just the odd message here and there and he seems very happy. [He said], ‘Andy I’m not f****d.’ That’s what he said. ‘I couldn’t be f****d with it.’ He’s very happy. As bad as it sounds, it depends what the figure is for Tyson. It has to motivate him to come out of retirement. He seems very happy.”
Joshua’s future remains uncertain after turning down the chance to fight Daniel Dubois for a second time. Joshua was knocked out by his fellow Brit at Wembley last September but was not fit enough to accept an immediate sequel.
Dubois was due to take on Joseph Parker last month but pulled out two days before the bout after falling ill with a virus. Dubois is now determined to take on fellow champion Usyk in a rematch of their 2023 clash, leaving Joshua out in the cold.
Fury lost twice to Usyk last year with both fights going the 12-round distance. The Brit insists he was robbed in their rematch and alluded to that in his retirement statement. ”Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” he wrote. “I would 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. Get up!”
Fury was referring to infamous highwayman and robber Turpin from the 17th century who was ultimately executed in 1739 at the age of 33. Fury has not spoken out since his brief social media video and has shown little sign of being tempted back into the ring.