Fury “will stay retired if Usyk beats Joshua” says Eddie Hearn
Tyson Fury will likely stay retired if IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defeats Anthony Joshua in their rematch in August, says promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing.
Hearn says he thinks WBC champion Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) wants nothing to do with the crafty Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), who is arguably a terrible style match-up for the slow, 270+ lb behemoth.
According to Hearn, Fury will come out of retirement if Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) defeats Usyk because that’s the fight that ‘The Gypsy King’ badly wants against AJ.There’s a ton of money for Fury to make fighting Joshua, and the attention Tyson would receive from that match would be tremendous.
Going up against the mobile southpaw Usyk would be a nightmare for Fury, who has put on a lot of weight since hiring Sugarhill Steward as his coach in 2020. Fury doesn’t move as he used to when he was lighter, fighting in the 250s, and still in his 20s.
“I think if Usyk was to beat Joshua, I think he’ll stay retired because I don’t think he [Fury] wants to fight Usyk,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about Tyson Fury.
“But I think if AJ wins, and I truly believe he will win, you’ll see the biggest fight in the history of boxing [Joshua vs. Fury],” said Hearn.
It’s pretty apparent at this point that Fury wants no part of fighting the talented Usyk because this guy can make him look REAL bad, forcing him to eat his words.
Fury has remarked in the past that he didn’t view Usyk as a threat to him, but when it comes to proving it, he doesn’t want it.
If Fury does stay retired, he will need to vacate his WBC title at some point because he can’t sit on it, treating it like a permanent moment.
The World Boxing Council will likely need to strip Fury if he doesn’t hand over their WBC title because contenders are waiting for their opportunity to challenge for their belt.
