LONDON (AP) — British heavyweight Tyson Fury has retired from boxing — again — one month after losing a rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.
The 36-year-old Fury announced the decision in a short video posted on his Instagram account on Monday, which included a cryptic message.
“Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet. I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing,” Fury said. “It’s been a blast, I’ve loved every single minute of it and I’m going to end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, see you on the other side.”
It was unclear why Fury made a reference to Turpin, a famed 18th century English highway robber and horse thief.
Fury was upset with the unanimous decision when he lost the Dec. 21 rematch with Usyk in Saudi Arabia. However, Usyk landed 179 of 423 punches thrown (42%), while Fury landed 144 of his 509 punches, a 28% clip.
Fury had acknowledged making mistakes, notably by showboating too much, when losing their first fight in Riyadh in May by split decision.
Fury has announced his retirement before, however, notably on his 34th birthday in August 2022.
But he was back fighting again two months later.
Fury’s record is 34-2-1, with 24 KOs.
The losses to Usyk were the only defeats in Fury’s career, which began in 2008 and included one draw against American boxer Deontay Wilder in 2018. ___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
