Boxing world reacts to Tyson Fury announcement

Two-time world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury announced Friday that he will “walk away” from boxing, just three days after saying he was returning to the ring.

“Massive thanks to everyone who had an input in my career over the years & after long hard conversations (I’ve finally) decided to walk away & on my 34th birthday I say Bon voyage,” Fury wrote on Twitter.

It’s unclear what happened between Tuesday and Friday as the 34-year-old had just announced he was returning to boxing for a fight against Derek Chisora, who he has already defeated twice.

That announcement led some to think that Fury had his sights set on a unification bout between himself, the reigning WBC heavyweight champion, and Oleksandr Usyk, the reigning WBA, IBF, and WBO titleholder.

Despite being WBC heavyweight champion and undefeated in his professional career, Fury said he was retiring from the sport in April.

If this is it for Fury, he ends his professional career with 33 total fights, 32 victories, and one draw. He also has 23 wins by knockout to his credit.

While Fury’s career took place at a time when boxing has been on the downswing and he hasn’t been the notable figure that people like Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis were before him, he still leaves behind an interesting legacy among the great heavyweights of the sport. And there were lots of big reactions from the boxing world regarding the news of Fury’s potential retirement.

Not everyone was convinced that this retirement is official, however.

We’ll see if this retirement actually sticks. But in the meantime, it sounds like the sound of this Fury signifies nothing more in the ring.

[Tyson Fury]