Fury to follow boxing’s most common tradition

Tyson Fury stayed on top of the heavyweight division, if not the sport, with a perfect right uppercut that sent Dillian Whyte to the canvas for a sixth-round technical knockout victory on Saturday in front of more than 94,000 people at Wembley Stadium.

The obvious next fight for Fury is a showdown with the winner of the July 23 rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua, a fight that would crown boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.

Instead, Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) vows to hang up the gloves and overlook the riches such a fight promises to bring.

“I promised my lovely wife, Paris, who I’ve been with for 14 years, that after the Wilder 3 fight, that would be it. And I meant it,” said Fury, the No. 1 heavyweight. “We had a war. It was a great trilogy. And I meant it. But I was offered to fight at Wembley, at home, and I think I deserved it, that I owed it to the fans, I owed it to every single person in the UK to come here and fight at Wembley.

“Now it’s all done. And I have to be a man of my word. And I think this is it. This could be the final curtain for ‘the Gypsy King’.” And what a way to go out!”.

And with that apparent parting message, Fury went into one of his favorite songs, and the song that played for the first time before walking to the ring – Don McLean’s “American Pie.”

But it’s hard to believe that Fury fought for the last time at age 33. His father doesn’t even believe this is it. Fury left the door open for another fight, or five, when he said, “I think this is it.” He will almost certainly be back. He has long yearned to be undisputed, and a fight against Usyk or Joshua could earn him a purse close to nine figures.

There’s also the possibility of a mega-fight with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in 2023, when the octagon star will be a free agent. Fury even asked Ngannou to join him inside the ring during his post-fight interview to discuss a potential fight between the two. Ngannou is currently out of action, recovering from knee surgery.

That’s why it’s so hard to believe that Fury will actually retire, or stay retired.

Fury is right in his prime, a bulldozing big man, 6-foot-9 inches (2.06 meters) and over 264 pounds, capable of crushing his foe with brute force or elegantly outboxing an opponent with speed and an educated, powerful and effective jab.

He did both against Whyte, using a brilliant jab from both positions to come from distance until the crushing right uppercut ended the fight.

When asked Friday at the weigh-in what his legacy in boxing will be, Fury told ESPN, “As Clark Gable said, ‘I just don’t give a damn!’ We don’t give a damn, we’re not here for legacies. We’re here to lay down and get paid!”

Of course, Fury’s legacy at this point is clear: he’s the best heavyweight of his generation. And he has the opportunity to accomplish much more. Sure, he’s already a Hall of Famer, but if he can continue to rack up wins, he has a chance to carve his way into the annals of boxing’s most glamorous division.

However, Fury insists that this is it. That he threw his final punch, evaded his final jab and sang his final post-fight celebratory tune.

He insists he will forgo the fight that has long eluded him since he won three of four belts against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. He was apparently on the brink on numerous occasions. The ultimate fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Fury said he’s had each of the four titles at some point, so he’s happy. But that’s hard to believe in someone who has yearned to achieve so much.

Fury has never held all four titles at the same time, but the opportunity is closer than ever now that Usyk-Joshua 2 is ready, and a fight against the winner is ready for him, if he so desires.

The win over Whyte was the final fight of Fury’s five-fight contract with Top Rank, a promoter that helped him become a superstar. There are no promotional or network obstacles that could stop a fight against Joshua or Usyk, as is often the case when it comes to boxing’s biggest potential commercial events, nor any obligations to lingering former opponents (an arbitration ruling that Fury owed Deontay Wilder a third fight prevented plans for an Aug. 14, 2021, fight against Joshua for the undisputed title).

If Fury actually fights for the undisputed championship, it would be a super fight, but especially if it’s against Joshua, who remains one of the biggest boxing stars in the UK. The opportunity to beat Joshua and surpass him in terms of British fame outside of the ring might be too much for Fury to pass up.

There are many reasons why Fury should, and probably will, box at least one more time, but one stands above the rest: it’s a boxing rite of passage to retire, only to return shortly thereafter. Multiple times in some cases.

Fury is something of a historian when it comes to heavyweight boxing, so he knows full well that James J. Jeffries retired as champion in 1905, but returned to the ring five years later against the man who was then champion, Jack Johnson.

The fourth heavyweight champion in boxing history was the first to come out of retirement, but many followed. Muhammad Ali retired in 1979, almost a year after regaining the title from Leon Spinks, but “The Greatest” was back in the ring less than 13 months later.

And then there’s George Foreman, who was retired for 10 years before mounting a historic comeback that culminated in a second reign at age 45.

Outside of the heavyweight division, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao retired and returned too many times to count.

But there are exceptions to the rule. Lennox Lewis retired as heavyweight champion in 2004 and never looked back. UK star and super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe also retired without returning.

Just don’t bet on this being it for Fury. But if it is somehow the end and Fury surprises us all once again, as he did with his remarkable comeback to regain the heavyweight championship, Fury will be fondly remembered as one of the greatest all-around heavyweights of all time.

Fury was not destined for stardom when he was climbing the rankings, nor did he seem destined for the heavyweight crown in 2013 when he survived a knockdown before knocking out Steve Cunningham in his U.S. debut.

He was well down in the betting, 1-4, when he challenged Klitschko, but ended the Hall of Famer’s nearly 10-year reign. Before Fury could defend the title in a rematch, his life spiraled out of control. During those two and a half years away from boxing, he said he thought about committing suicide and ballooned to more than 400 pounds.

Fury often talked about his addiction to cocaine and alcohol, along with depression. Eventually, Fury was stripped of his titles without a single defense, and it seemed he would never reach those heights again. But he overcame the odds once again when, after two prep fights, he challenged Wilder for the heavyweight championship in 2018 and survived two late knockdowns. It was a fight that Fury clearly looked to win, but settled for a controversial draw.

Fury could no longer be called a pillow fist after two consecutive finishes over Wilder, one of boxing’s top heavyweights, who possesses one of the best right hands in the sport. And now he can also add Whyte to that list with the brutal right uppercut that sent him stumbling into the ropes after he got up from the canvas.

Fury’s departure at the height of his powers would deprive boxing of one of its biggest stars, and best fighters, but would ensure that he left the sport with his health intact, something few greats can claim. Whatever Fury chooses to do next, even if it’s a return to the WWE ring, we’ll all be watching.

“I’ll tell you why they’ll remember Tyson Fury” “For being a son of a f—! crazy!”