Tyson Fury announces return to boxing a year after latest retirement
Former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury has announced that he will return to boxing in 2026, ending his recent retirement.
The 37-year-old Briton last fought in December 2024, losing for the second time to unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in their heavyweight rematch. Fury confirmed his retirement a month later.
Speculation about a return has increased in recent weeks after Fury shared footage of him training with South African boxer Kevin Lerena in Thailand.
Posting on Instagram on Sunday, Fury said: “2026 is that year. The return of Mac. I’ve been away for a while but now I’m back. I’m 37 and I’m still punching. There’s nothing better than punching guys in the face and getting paid for it.”
Fury’s return to the ring was widely anticipated. Given his comeback history, his most recent retirement was met with skepticism last year.
He previously retired from boxing after stopping Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April 2022, but returned six months later.
Queensberry promoter Frank Warren said he expected Fury to fight again. Saudi Arabian power broker Turki Alalshikh is reportedly planning for Fury and long-time rival Anthony Joshua to fight separate matches in the Kingdom in early 2026, before finally meeting later in the year.
Joshua raised the possibility by saying he was ready to face Fury after beating Jake Paul in December.
Those plans are now uncertain after Joshua was injured in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends.
Fury has had two reigns as heavyweight champion and has a professional record of 34 wins, two defeats, both against Usyk, and a draw with Deontay Wilder.
In 2015, he stunned long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko to capture the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and The Ring heavyweight titles in Germany.
After more than two-and-a-half years away from the ring, during which time he addressed mental health issues, Fury returned in 2018 and regained his world champion status in 2020 by defeating Wilder to win the WBC title.
Fury has openly spoken about wanting to avenge his defeat against Usyk, who currently holds the WBA (Super), WBC and IBF belts.
While there seems to be limited desire for a trilogy among fans, the Ukrainian player stated that he would prefer to defend his title against Wilder from now on.
One possible path to a world title fight could be an infighting with Fabio Wardley, the current WBO champion and another fighter backed by Warren’s Queensberry stable.
