By Keith Idec
Tyson Fury appears to have announced his retirement again Wednesday through his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
The embattled ex-heavyweight champion indicated his boxing career is over by posting this: been very blessed in my life & career achieve the upmost in boxing, was a epic journey along the way. Thanks to all the fans that supported & believed in me along the way.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. THE END.
The Instagram message was accompanied by numerous emojis and a photo of Fury holding his heavyweight championship belts.
The 28-year-old Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) didn’t use the word retirement in his cryptic post, but by using the words “THE END” indicated that his boxing career has concluded.
His social media message Wednesday was another in a long line of public statements about Fury’s future. It also came a day after Fury posted messages about a trip to the gym Tuesday and two days after a post about being motivated to train Monday.
The Manchester native hasn’t fought since upsetting Wladimir Klitschko to win the IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight titles in November 2015.
His immediate rematch with Ukraine’s Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs) was postponed last year and then canceled altogether because Fury sought treatment for depression, alcoholism and drug abuse. The 6-feet-9, 260-pound Fury gave up the heavyweight titles he won from Klitschko, but has announced several times this year that he has resumed training and was planning a comeback.
Fury previously had said that he expected to fight again sometime late this year, which would be dependent upon a resolution to his licensing issue with the British Boxing Board of Control. The trash-talking Fury also has mentioned high-profile domestic showdowns with unbeaten British star Anthony Joshua (19-0, 19 KOs), the IBF/IBO/WBA champion, and former heavyweight and cruiserweight champion David Haye (28-3, 26 KOs).
Joshua took advantage of Fury’s inactivity and won three of the titles he relinquished by stopping Klitschko in the 11th round of an April 29 fight that drew approximately 90,000 fans to Wembley Stadium in London.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
