PARIS — Former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury announced he will return to boxing in 2026.
Fury has not fought since losing to Oleksandr Usyk in a bout for three of the four major world titles in December 2024.
But the 37-year-old British star posted on Instagram: “2026 is that year. Return of the mac.
“Been away for a while but I’m back now, 37 years old and still punching. Nothing better to do than punch men in the face and get paid for it,” Fury added according to AFP.
Fury also said he was retiring from the sport after beating Dillian Whyte in April 2022, only to return later in the year.
Fury’s history of retirement followed by u-turns meant few believed his most recent claim to end a career that had brought 34 wins in 37 contests.
He was incensed at the judges’ decisions in a pair of defeats by Usyk, the only boxer to beat Fury, who said in last year’s retirement message: “I’m going to end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask.”
The self-styled “Gypsy King” fuelled speculation of another comeback over the festive period by posting several clips on his social media feeds of himself in training.
Despite insisting he had bowed out of the sport, Fury has been repeatedly linked with a long-awaited all-British bout against Anthony Joshua, another former two-time world heavyweight champion.
The pair agreed to a fight in August 2021 when they held all the major world titles between them, but that was scuppered when Fury was ordered to take on Deontay Wilder for a third time by an arbitration hearing.
Plans were in the pipeline for Joshua and Fury to have tune-ups in the early part of this year before finally facing off against each other, either in late summer or towards the back end of 2026.
However, the car crash in Nigeria which left Joshua injured and led to the deaths of two close friends and team members has likely put boxing on the back burner for the 36-year-old.
If Joshua is unavailable, Fury could seek a trilogy fight against WBC, WBA and IBF titlist Usyk or a contest with WBO champion Fabio Wardley.
Undefeated world super middleweight champion Terence Crawford announced his retirement from boxing, hanging up his gloves three months after a career-defining victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
The 38-year-old from Nebraska, who dominated Mexican legend Alvarez in Las Vegas in September to claim the undisputed super middleweight crown, announced his decision in a video posted on social media.
“I’m stepping away from competition, not because I’m done fighting, but because I’ve won a different type of battle,” Crawford said in his retirement message. “The one where you walk away on your own terms.”
Crawford retires as the reigning WBA, IBF and WBO supermiddleweight champion after defeating Alvarez by unanimous decision in a masterful performance.
Crawford had also held the WBC super-middleweight belt, but was stripped of it earlier this month following a dispute over sanctioning fees.
Speaking in his video, Crawford said his career had been driven by a desire to keep “proving everyone wrong.”
“Every fighter knows this moment will come, we just never know when,” Crawford said.
“I spent my whole life chasing something. Not belts, not money, not headlines. But that feeling, the one you get when the world doubts you but you keep showing up and you keep proving everyone wrong.”
“I fought for my family. I fought for my city. I fought for the kid I used to be, the one who had nothing but a dream and a pair of gloves. And I did it all my way. I gave this sport every breath I had.”
Crawford’s career straddled three different decades, with the southpaw making his professional debut in 2008 and rapidly becoming one of boxing’s brightest talents.
He won his maiden world title, the WBO lightweight crown, with victory over Scotland’s Ricky Burns in 2014.
Crawford won 18 world titles in five weight classes, culminating in his win over Alvarez.
He retires having never been officially knocked down in a fight.
All of his 42 victories have come by way of unanimous decision or stoppage, with no judge ever scoring in favour of an opponent during his career.
