‘Return of the mac’: Tyson Fury ends retirement with shock return to the ring
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Return of the mac’: Tyson Fury ends retirement with shock return to the ring")
Britain's Tyson Fury Photograph: (AFP)
Fury could seek a trilogy fight against WBC, WBA and IBF titlist Usyk or a contest with WBO champion Fabio Wardley. A win over either would see Fury join Muhammad Ali as a three-time world heavyweight champion.
Former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury announced on Sunday (Jan 4) that he plans to return to boxing in 2026, less than a year after announcing his retirement. Fury stepped away from the sport in early 2025 following his second points defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Dec 2024, a fight for three of the four major heavyweight titles. However, the former world champion has changed his mind again, posting 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'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.
Trending Stories
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
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 on Monday 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. A win over either would see Fury join Muhammad Ali as a three-time world heavyweight champion.
Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable forWIONaudience.