Tyson Fury balks at previous retirement talk ahead of Dillian Whyte fight

Tyson Fury stated he would retire after his boxing bout with Dillian Whyte, but he was less enthusiastic about that stance on a recent media call. 

One month ago, Tyson Fury was adamant that his April 23 boxing contest would be his last, but he slowed his role on that stance when speaking to FanSided on an April 14 media call.

Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) defends his WBC heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) at Wembley Stadium. It will be Fury’s first fight in his home country of England since 2018.

Fury made surprising statements regarding his boxing future leading up to the massive fight.

“This is my final fight, done,” Fury told BT Sport (h/t Evening Standard) in March.

Fury added, “I’ve done everything I need to do now. I’ve made more money than I can spend in a million lifetimes. Capping it off at the national stadium, 100,000 people and another British opponent, that’ll be me.”

Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte fight at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, April 23, for the WBC heavyweight title

Those comments created a significant buzz, especially since a unification bout with the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua seems possible soon.

With more than a week to go before Fury vs. Whyte, FanSided caught up with Fury on a media call and asked him about his retirement claims.

“To be honest with you, I’m only thinking about Dillian Whyte at this moment,” Fury told FanSided. “I’m not thinking about retirement. That will all come after I’ve had the fight. We’ll think about what’s going to happen and what the future holds for me.”

That’s a very different response from what Fury gave to BT Sport in March.

It makes sense that Fury is focused on the 6-foot-4 Whyte, but it’s curious that he didn’t support his claims from a month ago. Fury may have had a change of heart.

If Fury is victorious against Whyte, he could be in the perfect position to land the biggest fight of his career against the winner of Usyk vs. Joshua. Usyk holds the three other heavyweight titles.

Boxing fans are waiting for an undisputed champion, and Fury could be two fights away from giving them what they want. A giant payday would be hard to walk away from.

At least fans can breathe a little easier knowing that Fury isn’t completely sold on retirement.