Much has been said about the surprise retirement of WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury. 'The Gypsy King' went out with a bang when he finished Dillian Whyte in April. During the post-fight interview, he said:
“If I fight again, it would only be exhibition fights.”
Four months later, the retired heavyweight has called out multiple prominent non-boxer personalities for exhibition fights. The most recent and highly likely of these callouts to materialize was directed towards former World’s Strongest Man Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.
The duo exchanged barbs over social media and appeared to have reached an agreement for a meeting in the squared circle for an exhibition. The Icelandic strongman also confirmed that talks have been initiated for the same.
Tyson Fury's promoter Frank Warren, however, in recent interviews, shares that no progress has been achieved on any front for Fury’s return. He told Boxing Social:
“I don’t know if he is going to have an exhibition. What is it to worry about in an exhibition? An exhibition is an exhibition.”
Watch Frank Warren talk about Tyson Fury's future fights:
Warren also informed Express Sport that speculations on Fury’s return are just rumors at this point.
“There’s lots of things being said at the moment, but to be honest nothing has been done. Nothing will be done until I sit down with him. He’s got his tour at the moment so he’s traveling around the country. Once that’s done, in a couple of weeks’ time he has a little break in between, so we will sit down then and have a chat.”
How's life treating Tyson Fury post retirement?
Tyson Fury is regarded as one of the most prolific boxers the sport has ever seen. The 6’9” fighter has been renowned for displaying courage in the face of adversity inside and outside the ring. 'The Gypsy King" retired only after capturing WBC heavyweight gold and defending it several times. After his last fight, the 33-year-old did point out that weariness and exhaustion contributed heavily to his decision to quit competing professionally.
Fury said that he will return to the ring for exhibition bouts only, where the pressure is nowhere near the stress he had to deal with when fighting for or defending the belt.
Since then, Fury has been touring across his native country of United Kingdom. “Fury Fest: The Official After Party Tour” is a victory lap of sorts for 'The Gypsy King'. He is moving from city to city, hosting meet-and-greets and parties with his fans.
However, parties are not the only thing that Fury has focused his energy on. He is also about to release an autobiography and is actively engaged in promoting his younger brother Tommy Fury. Most interestingly, 'The Gypsy King' has called out Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua, and now Björnsson, for exhibition fights on multiple occasions.
With Warren not giving a clear indication of Fury's ring return, whether we’ll see him lace up the 12 ounces again is anybody’s guess.