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While Tyson Fury was talking of retirement and the occasional exhibition, a more likely assessment of his future was delivered by his wife Paris in the small hours at Wembley on Sunday morning.
If there is to be one more fight, she said, then it would be the encounter the whole of boxing is itching to see, which is for Fury to face the winner of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk for all of the heavyweight belts.
That would go against Fury’s stated desire for a clean break from boxing in the wake of his sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte. But as ever with Fury, the WBC world champion, words are best taken with handfuls of salt, and perhaps more so when they are delivered in a press conference he attended in only a pair of underpants.
Tyson Fury beat Dillian Whyte after sending him to the canvas with a ferocious uppercut
After the bout he said he would stick to the promise he made wife, Paris, that he would retire
His wife was more believable when she left the door open to a comeback, saying: ‘He does not need to be any more famous. We’re very blessed and lucky not to need any more money. I mean the man has done everything he can do.
‘I know that in my heart the only reason Tyson would come back is for a unification fight as he has nothing left to prove. To keep boxing on, there’s nothing there for him.’
That fight could be in motion before the end of the summer, with Usyk and Joshua due to stage their rematch for the WBA, IBF and WBO titles in June or July.
Talks are ongoing to finalise that Usyk-Joshua showdown, with Saudi Arabia the leading contender to stage the bout on a list that is also understood to include Qatar, Abu Dhabi, the US and London.
The Gypsy King celebrated his triumph with his family at a restaurant in Essex on Sunday
Assuming the winner agrees to face Fury, prominent figures in the sport believe the combined purse would be worth in excess of £100million.
A split of that bounty is what Fury, 33, would forego if he holds to his retirement plan.
If we humour Fury, the current configuration of those plans would see him stage a couple of lucrative exhibitions, including a hybrid fight with the UFC champion Francis Ngannou, adopting boxing rules and lighter MMA gloves. Ngannou joined Fury in the ring on Saturday night so a scripted preamble to that endeavour has already begun.
As for boxing, Fury said: ‘I’ve spent a lot of time on the road, I’ve been away a long time. I’ve fulfilled everything I’ve ever wanted to fulfil. I’m going to retire as only the second heavyweight in history, after Rocky Marciano, to retire undefeated.’
Paris said Tyson could be tempted back to face winner of Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk
While there was never any great doubt over whether Fury would beat Whyte, there was a degree of intrigue around his preparations, given the backdrop of intense scrutiny that has been applied to his relationship with the alleged gangster Daniel Kinahan.
Ultimately it had no bearing on his performance, which was measured through five rounds before a brutal uppercut settled it in the sixth.
Fury said: ‘Whyte didn’t just fight the world champion – I’m a legend in this game. And you can’t deny it, I’m the best heavyweight there has ever been.
‘There ain’t ever been one who could beat me. I have a 6ft 9in frame, 270lbs in weight, can move like a middleweight, can hit like a thunderstorm and can take a punch like anybody else. I’ve got b******s like King Kong, the heart of a lion, the mindset of the Wizard of Oz. It was a special night, what a way to top it all off.’
Source: DailyMail
