World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury should be on top of the world right now as he holds one of the most prestigious titles in all of sport.
However, less than a year on from the biggest victory of his life, the ‘Gypsy King’ looks to be stepping away from the ring.
As he enters training camp for his July ninth rematch against Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury has shockingly announced that he will retire following the bout.
Fury is no stranger to bizarre behaviour, but there seems to be a different feeling in the air this time around and in Fury’s tone when he voices his displeasure at being a ‘piece of meat’ for boxing promoters and having to train and fight instead of spending time with his family.
It’s not only his words that have pundits and fans concerned about his current state of mind when it comes to boxing, but his actions also. At the recent press conference to promote the Klitschko rematch, ‘The Furious One’ took off his shirt to reveal his dad-bod backing up his claims of binging on food and alcohol and not taking his preparation seriously.
While Fury did take time out to ridicule Wladimir Klitschko, he is potentially blurring the lines between mind games and being underprepared and unmotivated for the biggest fight of his life.
Klitschko’s performance during their first bout landed him on the end of a lot of criticism and he will no doubt have newly found motivation to be as prepared as possible for this fight in a way that he may not have been since his very personal feud with David Haye.
In the midst of the build up to the July ninth title fight, Tyson Fury has also taken potshots at IBF Heavyweight Champion, Anthony Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, possibly opening the door to an all-British heavyweight title unifying blockbuster down the track.
Joshua will be defending his version of the heavyweight crown on June 25th and a fight between the humble, fan favourite Joshua and outspoken Fury could be on par with Carl Froch versus George Groves II in terms of hype of fanfare.
Fury is constantly courting controversy (rightly or wrongly) with his outspoken style and with a lot of today’s athletes going out of there way to be portrayed as either positive role models or ‘bad guys’ it is refreshing to see a guy who just speaks his mind whether you agree or disagree with what he says and won’t let the media turn him into their puppet.
The ‘Gypsy King’ has always told anyone who was willing to listen that he is the best going around but as the current lineal champion he now has the accolades to add validity to those claims.
Tyson Fury breathed new life into what is historically boxing’s showpiece division and it will be better off with Fury in it than retired. Whether it is by making a megastar of himself, or of opponents llike Joshua or Deontay Wilder, heavyweight boxing needs Tyson Fury right now.
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