On a night where he extended his undefeated record to 33 fights and subsequently defended his WBC and lineal heavyweight world championship belts, Tyson Fury 'The Gypsy King' announced his retirement. After his win over Dillian Whyte, the 33-year-old announced that tonight would be his last ever fight.
The fight was a stunning display from Fury, who kept Dillian Whyte at bay before flooring his opponent with a swift and stunning knockout in the sixth round. After the fight, he said: “I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for The Gypsy King.”
After going professional in 2008, Fury worked his way through the ranks to earn a world heavyweight championship shot against Wladimir Klitshcko in 2015. With nobody giving the Wythenshawe-born fighter a chance, he was able to box without fear, winning in Cologne via decision to become WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion of the world.
Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte live highlights and stream
However, this joy was short lived, as a long and well documented battle with his mental health followed resulting in a two-and-a-hald year absence from the ring. He returned in the summer of 2018, beating Sefer Seferi at the Manchester Arena having linked up with Frank Warren and Bob Arum.
He showed that he had lost none of his class on his return and a world championship fight was shortly arranged against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. An epic draw was played out in LA in December 2018 - it was the only fight that the Gypsy King has failed to win during his career to date and meant that he would have to earn another shot at the champ.
Wins against Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin followed in a quiet 2019, before in February 2020 Fury took a trip to Las Vegas to take on Wilder once more. Fury earned a TKO in round seven of that fight to reclaim his belts in what can only be described as one of sport's greatest comebacks.
A title defence would have to wait, however, with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and it wasn't until October 2021 that the trilogy would be completed in las Vegas. This time, Fury settled the fight in the eleventh round with a stunning knockout. This meant that Fury would have to face Whyte for his WBC belt after Whyte became the mandatory challenger with a March 2021 win over Alexander Povetkin.
This meant that Fury's homecoming could be confirmed and a fight at Wembley stadium was agreed for Fury to face former sparring partner Whyte, 34. On Saturday night, 94,000 people packed into Wembley to watch Fury's last dance in the ring before the Gypsy King confirmed his retirement to deprive fans of a fight against either Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk.
