Tyson Fury's vow to retire after Saturday's fight with Dillian Whyte appears to be ringing more true than ever after he confirmed his latest addition to his corner.
The world heavyweight champion has promised that his career is over after his bout against Whyte, no matter the result. And in honour of the historic occasion, he has added his first amateur coach Steve Egan to his corner for his final fight.
Egan thought Fury how to box at the Jimmy Egan Centre in Wythenshawe, Manchester, but he moved on to different trainers in the professional ranks. He has been trained by his uncle Peter Fury and Ben Davison among others, and now is cornered by the Kronk Gym's SugarHill Steward.
But on Saturday night, he will return to his roots, with Egan in his corner at Wembley Stadium in front of a record 94,000-person crowd. "I started boxing at 14, I'm 34 in August," Fury told iFL TV. "I've had a good 20 years.
"How do you know it's the final curtains? I've got the man who started me, Steve Egan. He's in my corner and he's never been in my corner before other than one fight years and years ago and he's back in now for the last hoorah. He said to me, 'you know what? I'm the only person of all these people here who knew you before'. 20 years, now that's loyalty isn't it?"
Fury appears content to finish his career undefeated, having won every world title at heavyweight, but never having unified the division. If he were to stick around for Anthony Joshua's rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, then he could eventually reclaim the titles he never lost after defeating Wladimir Klitschko, but he has little interest.
A fight with Joshua would be massive for British and world boxing, but it relies too heavily, Fury says, on his ability to win on the big occasion. "I'll be 32-0," Fury continued, ignoring his one draw with Deontay Wilder in 2018. "I've won every belt there is to win. I've already won all the belts, people already know that.
Do you believe that Tyson Fury will really retire after his fight with Dillian Whyte? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"AJ's already had his chance once, really he's had about ten chances to fight me, and for his greed and wanting all the time it's not happened. It's no skin off my nose.
"He ain't a virgin any more is he? He's been beaten so in what world could he have ever beaten me anyway? There is no debate, it's not an exciting fight, it's only for money anyway.
"If I fought Joshua now, I wouldn't be gaining anything because people don't think he could beat me anyway. They think I'll give him a good hiding and set about him, send him up the road packing saying 'get up there, mush'.
"All I'll be gaining is a few quid and a word is a word not to be broken. That's it, nothing more to gain. Julius Cesar once said; 'there'll always be somebody else to fight', what am I supposed to carry on for 50 more years?
"After Joshua there'll be somebody else, after Usyk there'll be somebody else, after that person, that person, it'll always be somebody."
