By Barry Holbrook: Tyson Fury will make his retirement decision based on the outcome of the July 23rd rematch between unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua, according to promoter Bob Arum.
WBC champion Fury is only interested in battling the last man standing in the Joshua vs. Usyk 2 rematch.
No one else in the division holds any interest in the 6’9″ Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs), as he already beat the famous ex-WBC champion Deontay Wilder twice and Dillian Whyte.
Fury has effectively cleared out the division, and the only ones remaining are Joshua & Usyk.
The bigger payday for Fury would be against Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs), but he’s up against it in facing Usyk again.
Last September, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk took Joshua to school, outboxing him over 12 rounds to win an easy unanimous decision.
“Fury is going to wait until the Joshua fight comes out with Usyk, and then he’ll make a determination if he wants to continue,” said Bob Arum to Fighthype.
“Other than fighting the winner of Joshua vs. Usyk, there’s really nothing there of interest to Tyson Fury, so we’ll have to see,” Arum said.
It will be a shame if Fury elects not to fight Usyk if he’s the one that emerges as the winner when the smoke clears from his rematch with AJ. The money obviously won’t be as good for Fury fighting Usyk, but it’ll be a big chunk of change for ‘The Gypsy King.’
If nothing else, it’ll allow Fury to cement his legacy by becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion before retiring. That would be essential to add to Fury’s legacy before heading out the door.
Fighting Joshua would be a fantastic match-up for Fury, as the money and attention he’ll receive from this contest will be huge.
Fury is still in the prime of his career and would likely be a big favorite to beat the Joshua-Usyk II winner.
The way that Fury toyed with the dangerous puncher Whyte effortlessly in defeating him in six rounds on April 23rd, there’s an excellent chance that he’ll do the same against AJ or Usyk.
If Usyk wins the rematch with AJ, Fury could vacate and retire. In that case, the WBC belt would be fought over by #1 Deontay Wilder and #2 Joe Joyce. That would be a fun fight to watch for fans, provided Deontay accepts the match.
Arum will be disappointed at seeing Fury retire so soon because he’s turned him into a colossal star in the United States. With Fury’s size and skills, he has untapped potential to keep winning & making money for a long time to come.
