Tyson Fury retires from boxing following second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk

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Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing, just under a month after his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in a highly anticipated rematch.

The undefeated heavyweight champion shared the news in a video posted to Instagram, accompanied by the message: "Thanks, it's been a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped out along the way! Happy new year, Jesus is king now & forever."

In the video, Fury said, "Hi everybody. I'm gonna make this short and sweet. I'd like to announce my retirement from boxing. It's been a blast. I've loved every single minute of it, and I'm gonna end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody. See you on the other side. Get up."

Fury's announcement follows his second loss to Usyk, which marked the only two defeats of his career. The rematch, held in Saudi Arabia, saw Fury lose by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 116-112 in favor of Usyk.

This is not the first time Fury has declared his retirement. Prior to his 2022 fight with fellow British heavyweight Dillian Whyte, Fury announced he was stepping away from the sport, claiming to have "£150m in the bank and nothing to prove to anybody." However, after winning the fight, he reversed his decision, stating he would retire undefeated like legendary boxer Rocky Marciano. Shortly afterward, he returned to the ring for a third bout with Derek Chisora.

After his recent defeat to Usyk, Fury remained non-committal about his future in boxing, telling reporters, "You might do, you might not do. Who knows? We'll talk about that next year."

Fury also expressed frustration with the judging of the fight, claiming that Usyk received "an early Christmas gift" from the judges, despite his belief that he had won both bouts. "I will always feel a little bit hard done by," he added. "When you don’t get the knockout, this is what happens. You can’t guarantee the win."

Fury, who had spent three months preparing for the rematch, chose to forego seeing his wife Paris and their seven children during this time, saying he was looking forward to spending a quiet Christmas at home.