Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing just under a month after his loss to Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch between the two heavyweights.
Fury made the announcement on Instagram with a video accompanied by the caption: "Thanks it's been a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped out along the way!
"Happy new year Jesus is king now & forever."
He said, in the video posted earlier today: "Hi everybody. I'm gonna make this short and sweet. I'd like to announce my retirement from boxing.
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"It's been a blast. I've loved every single minute of it, and I'm gonna end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask.
"God bless everybody. See you on the other side. Get up."
This comes following his second defeat to Usyk.
The duology Fury shared with the Ukrainian fighter marked the only two losses of Fury's career.
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Today's announcement is not the first time Fury has announced his retirement.
Prior to his fight in 2022 with fellow British heavyweight Dillian Whyte, Fury said he was going to retire, claiming: "I'm a two-time undisputed world champion.
"£150m in the bank and nothing to prove to anybody".
After winning that fight, Fury said: "I fulfilled everything I've ever wanted to fulfil. I will retire as only the second heavyweight in history, after Rocky Marciano, to retire undefeated. I was unbeatable at this game."
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This was short lived, as he announced not long after this that he was going to return to fight Derek Chisora.
In his post fight press conference, Fury had been coy as to whether he was going to return, refusing to commit to any further fights.
When asked about returning to the ring, Fury said: "You might do, you might not do. Who knows?
"We’ll talk about that next year. What’s next for me?
"I’m going home and having some time off. For sure. I’m going to go home and have a good Christmas. I’ve been away 12 weeks working for this fight.
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“I’m going to go home now and enjoy it. We’re on for a nice Christmas in the Fury house and thank God we’re both out of the ring in one piece."
Fury decided, prior to this fight, to forego seeing his wife Paris for three months, as well as the seven children they share together.
He was also critical of the judging in the fight, which he lost 116-112 on all three judges scorecards in Saudi Arabia.
He said: "I felt a little Christmas spirit in there and I think he got a little Christmas gift from them judges. An early Christmas gift.
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“I was confident I had won that fight again.
"I thought I’d won both fights, but then again I’ve gone home with two losses on my record. I will always believe until the day I die that I won that fight.
“I’m not going to cry over spilt milk. It’s happened now.
"I know boxing, I’ve been in it all my life and you can’t change no decisions.
“I will always feel a little bit hard done by. Not a little bit, actually a lot. When you don’t get the knockout, this is what happens. You can’t guarantee the win.”
Topics: Boxing, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Instagram, Social Media
Michael Slavin