Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua ‘booked at Wembley’ earlier than Gypsy King’s shock retirement
Eddie Hearn claimed that Wembley was booked for a momentous showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury before the ‘Gypsy King’ announced his retirement
Eddie Hearn claimed that Wembley was booked to host Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury just hours before the ‘Gypsy King’ announced his retirement.
The two British heavyweights have long been speculated to finally go toe-to-toe in the ring but that rivalry appears to be over after Fury ruined plans for a showdown. Fury and Joshua had been touted to face off in a momentous event dubbed ‘The Battle of Britain’ in one of the biggest fights in British boxing history.
But those plans have seemingly been shelved despite Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn revealing to Sky Sports that he had reserved Wembley Stadium for the fight just hours before Fury announced his retirement.
“Yes. We’re looking to get back in the ring in May or June. If it ended up being July, it doesn’t really matter,” Hearn said. “I still think it rests on Tyson Fury. Until the water settles on the defeat and where he’s at mentally and what he wants to do, that’s where we’re really going to find out. Because when he looks at the options, what else is he going to do and who else is he going to fight?”
Fury suffered defeat in the rematch of his heavyweight world championship bout against Oleksandr Usyk in December. At the time, Fury suggested that he wouldn’t retire, but the 36-year-old’s announcement on Monday has stopped the proposed all-British affair in its tracks.
“Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” Fury said in a clip he shared to social media. “I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing. It’s been a blast, I’ve loved every single minute of it. I’m going to end with this. Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, see you on the other side. GET UP!”
It is thought that the Dick Turpin comment may refer back to his defeat by Usyk, after which Fury claimed he had been “robbed” by the judges’ decision.
This isn’t the first time that Fury has called time on his career in the ring, with his first break coming after he achieved his boxing dream by beating Wladimir Klitschko for the world title in 2015. His second retirement came after he defeated Dillian Whyte at Wembley in 2022, only to return at the end of the year to fight Derek Chisora.
Joshua too finds his career at a crossroads after he was dismantled by Daniel Dubois in September, scuppering his bid to become a three-time world champion.
