Tyson Fury says he has retired and that he is not coming back. Plenty of people – Oleksandr Usyk for one – do not believe him. This week, Mauricio Sulaiman told Sky Sports the WBC will be in contact with Fury to find out more about Fury’s future. If he has really retired, Fury will soon be vacating the WBC title, and quite naturally plenty of people will be eager to see two fighters duke it out for the vacant belt.
“The WBC will be communicating with Tyson Fury and his promoters about his future plans in the coming week,” Sulaiman told Sky Sports today. “We are ready to support him on whatever he decides. If he decides to retire the WBC will fully support him. It is our dream to see fighters retire with such greatness. Undefeated champion, financially protected with a loving family and a great future outside the ring.”
Plenty of fans, if you ask them, say Fury is, like the rest of us, waiting to see what happens when Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua meet in their return fight. Upon seeing this fight, Bob Arum said this week that Fury’s “blood will be stirred.” It is hard to imagine Fury, still at his peak, walking away for keeps without having fought the winner of the Usyk-Joshua rematch; especially if Joshua is the winner (a Fury Vs. Joshua fight would be the single biggest world heavyweight title fight the UK has ever seen, therefore all-but irresistible to a born fighting man like Fury).
We’ll see if Fury is 100 percent serious about having retired soon enough. If he vacates the WBC title, Fury is obviously serious, if he doesn’t vacate, he isn’t serious, and he might simply have been messing with us all once again.
If Fury does vacate, it will of course be interesting to see who winds up fighting for the title. Deontay Wilder is still the #1 ranked heavyweight as per the WBC, while Joe Joyce is ranked at #2. What a fight that one would be. Joyce is fighting Joseph Parker next, but who knows what might come after that fight should Joyce win it?
For now, let’s wait and see what Fury has to say to the WBC later this week. Is Fury really retired or is he not?