Less than one month after suffering defeat in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury took to social media on Monday to announce his retirement.
After one of the most distinguished careers in modern heavyweight history, the Gypsy King revealed that he was bowing out of the sport in a 17-second video posted on Instagram.
The announcement comes as a particular surprise, given that his second defeat to Usyk appeared to open the door for a long-awaited money-spinning showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Fury’s news was met with scepticism across much of the boxing world, and for good reason.
The erratic and outspoken 36-year-old has previously announced his intentions to step away from sport, only to later make a u-turn and return to the ring.
Here, Mail Sport looks back at all five of Fury’s ‘retirements’ and the events surrounding them.
Tyson Fury announced on Monday that he is retiring from boxing with immediate effect
The former heavyweight king delivered the announcement in a post on his Instagram account
November 2013
Long before Anthony Joshua had made his mark on the professional ranks, Fury had found himself part of another long-running domestic rivalry in the heavyweight division.
In 2013 the fight on everyone’s lips was the up and coming contender Fury taking on David Haye, who had suffered his sole defeat in boxing’s glamour division against Wladimir Klitschko.
In September of that year Fury and Haye were scheduled to meet at the Manchester Arena, before the Hayemaker pulled out just a week before the fight citing a cut suffered in sparring.
The clash was then postponed until February, before Haye once again was forced to withdraw due to requiring shoulder surgery.
Fury vented his frustration with the former unified cruiserweight champion, and later announced in a post on social media that he would step away from the sport.
He wrote: ‘Hi every1, I have officially retired from boxing. There’s too many bent people in the sport.’
Fury then added the following 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!’
The decision ultimately proved to be short-lived, and Fury returned three months later, stopping American journeyman Joey Abell at the Copper Box Arena.
But after Haye was forced to withdraw twice through injury Fury claimed he was stepping away from the sport
October 2016
After returning from his first retirement, Fury reeled off a string of victories ultimately leading to a clash with unified heavyweight king Klitschko in 2015.
Alongside his brother Vitali the Ukrainian had ruled over the division with an iron fist, drawing record viewing numbers in Germany as he toppled a succession of contenders but proved polarising in traditional boxing markets.
When the pair finally met in 2015 Fury produced a virtuoso performance, comprehensively outboxing Klitschko en route to a lopsided decision victory.
Klitschko immediately activated his rematch clause and the pair were scheduled to meet inside the ring once again the following year.
The rematch would ultimately never materialise. Fury initially postponed the clash after suffering an injury before vacating his titles and announcing he would step away from fighting while detailing his issues with mental health and drug use.
He wrote at the time: ‘Been very blessed in my life & career achieve the upmost in boxing, was a epic journey along the way.
‘Thanks to all the fans that supported & believed in me along the way. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. THE END.’
After gaining significant amounts of weight Fury would remain outside the ring for nearly three years before announcing his intention to re-apply for a boxing licence in 2018.
Fury became the unified champion in 2015 by defeating long-reigning heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko
Fury then fought lightly-regarded contenders Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta before taking on then-heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in December of that year.
The clash would be an instant classic, forever remembered for Fury improbably getting off the canvas in the final round to mark the start of the second chapter of his career.
April 2022
After his epic with Deontay Wilder was controversially ruled a draw, Fury would go on to assert himself in their two subsequent showdowns stopping the American on both occasions to claim the lineal heavyweight crown.
With the trilogy concluded talks once again intensified that the long-awaited clash between Fury and AJ would finally take place.
As they had previously however, negotiations between the two camps collapsed and Joshua instead faced off against Oleksandr Usyk.
With the clash off the table Fury instead fought fellow countryman Dillian Whyte, with the pair facing off in front of a record-breaking crowd at Wembley.
Fury dominated Whyte throughout their clash, before knocking his mandatory challenger out in the sixth round with a devastating uppercut that sent Whyte crashing to the canvas.
As he took to the microphone for his post-fight speech, the Gypsy King revealed he had promised his wife Paris prior to the clash that he would subsequently step away from competition.
Fury’s next retirement came after he knocked out Dillian Whyte at Wembley in 2022
He revealed in his post-fight speech that he had promised his wife Paris he would hang up his gloves
‘I promised my lovely wife of 14 years, Paris, that after the Wilder 3 fight, that would be it. And I meant it. We had a war, it was a great trilogy. And I meant that,’ explained Fury.
‘But I got offered to fight at Wembley at home, and I believe that I deserved – that I owed it to the fans, I owed it to every person in the United Kingdom 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 might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King. And what a way to go out! A big thank you to the United Kingdom!’
August 2022
Just months after his initial announcement, Fury later did an about face and insisted he was ready to continue fighting, provided the money was right.
Asked if he would return to the ring he replied: ‘One hundred per cent, like Jerry Maguire said, Frank, “Show me the money!”
‘If anybody can show me the money, I put a moniker on Frank Warren years ago, I called him the ‘Magic Man’.
‘Because if he can bring somebody back from absolutely dead, like he did with me, he must have magic.’
This ultimately proved short-lived however, and in August of 2022 Fury relinquished his Ring Magazine heavyweight title and claimed his days as a fighter were over.
Fury later U-turned on the decision, and insisted he was looking for big-money fights before again walking away from the sport
He wrote on X: ‘Massive thanks to everyone who had an input in my career over the years & after long hard conversations i’ve finally decided to walk away & on my 34th birthday I say bon voyage.’
Again this decision would be quickly overturned as he was back inside the ring before the year’s end, concluding his trilogy with Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December.
January 2025
Fury then followed up his victory over Chisora by announcing he would face former UFC champion – and professional boxing debutant – Francis Ngannou in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
Despite entering as a massive favourite, Fury was dropped by a left hook in the third round before recovering to earn a contentious victory on the judges’ scorecards.
The underwhelming win set up a clash with Oleksandr Usyk, with the winner crowned the first undisputed champion of the heavyweight division in the four-belt era.
The clash ultimately proved competitive, but Usyk rallied as the fight wore on to pick up the win, before repeating the feat when the pair rematched in December 2024.
Following the fight Fury reportedly told those close to him that he was not yet finished inside the ring, and would look to finally collide with AJ in 2025.
Speculation that the fight was in the works continued to grow in the ensuing days and weeks before Fury announced on Monday that his career was over with immediate effect.
Fury’s latest retirement came after he suffered his second professional defeat at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in December
The 36-year-old expressed his frustration post-fight after the judges’ unanimously scored the contest in favour of the Ukrainian
In a brief message on social media, the 36-year-old made a cryptic reference to infamous highwayman Dick Turpin.
‘Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,’ Fury said.
‘I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing. It’s been a blast, I’ve loved every single minute of it.
‘I’m going to end with this. Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, see you on the other side. GET UP!’
