Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says Tyson Fury will NOT be retiring like he’s been telling everybody this week leading up to his successful title defense against Dillian Whyte last Saturday night.
Arum believes WBC heavyweight champion Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) won’t be retiring. He says he’s going to be meeting with Fury in Las Vegas in two weeks for dinner and they’ll talk.
With the work that Arum has done in turning Fury into a star in the United States, it’s understandable why thinks it’s “crazy” that he would retire at this point.
Arum has built Fury into the star that he is, and it’s only fair that he stays around long enough for the wisened promoter to set up the undisputed clash against the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk rematch in July.
The fight that all boxing has wanted to see for many years is Fury vs. Joshua, and it doesn’t make sense for ‘The Gypsy King’ to retire without going through with it.
“No, he definitely won’t retire. Of course not. Are you crazy?” said Bob Arum to USA Today Sports about Fury’s retirement talk.
“We’ll have plenty of time to talk everything out,” said Arum.
You can’t blame Arum for him wanting Fury to continue with his career because he can make massive money fighting Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs).
Even if Joshua loses to IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Uysk in July, there will still be huge interest in a Fury vs. AJ fight worldwide.
Fury has two mega-fights available to him, possibly three against Joshua and Usyk. He’s got to fight both of those guys before he retires from the sport.
If your Arum, you’re thinking of two fights for Fury against Joshua and one against Usyk. The money that Fury will make from those three fights would be tremendous, which would obviously be a win-win situation for his promoters.
“I don’t know what [Francis Ngannou’s] contract situation with the UFC is,” Arum stated. “Obviously, it’d be a massive fight, and it should be easy to make.”
“I’m the boxing heavyweight champion. This is the UFC heavyweight champion. Is he in good shape? Look at the muscles on him,” Fury said about Ngannou while still in the ring following his win over Dillian.
“This is going to be one very special fight, like one never before seen in the sport. We’re not talking two light guys. It’s going to be an explosive fight when it happens.”
“Tyson, to me, is on another level than anyone else,” said Shane Fury to Boxing Social. “What he showed in there tonight was a different class. Dillian Whyte was made to measure for Tyson all his career.
“A bit of a surprise,” Shane said about Whyte coming out in the southpaw stance against Fury in the opening round. “I said to Tyson, ‘He’s going to turn back to orthodox in the next round, and he did.”
