Many fans believe former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will retire if he loses his rematch with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Temptation of a Joshua Payday
The temptation will of course be there for Fury, 36, to hang on after a second defeat to Usyk to get that big payday against Anthony Joshua next year. You cannot rule out that the greed factor with Fury because an extra $100 million+ would help feather his retirement nest.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has already told the media that Fury and Joshua can still fight, even if they lose their semi-finals. Fury may not want to take him up on his offer because of his pride.
The purse that Fury could get for fighting Joshua would be enormous, and it would be tempting for him to take the fight even if he is coming off a humiliating knockout loss to Usyk in December.
Being dusted by Usyk on December 21st will be a bitter pill for Fury to swallow, as it was only four months ago that he was considered the best heavyweight on the planet. That tag, of course, was as we saw in Fury’s poor performance against Usyk, who looked as bad as he has in some of his other fights and was similarly bailed out by the referee on duty.
A knockout loss could be the last straw
A KO loss for Fury against the undefeated Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) could be the last straw for the proud ‘Gypsy King’, who was saved from being stopped by the referee in this first fight against Oleksandr on May 18 to become Most people believe Fury would have been knocked out in the ninth round.
For the rematch, it is highly unlikely that a referee will step in to give Fury a standing figure eight that is found when he is hurt and dipped against the ropes by Usyk. A referee wouldn’t want to put himself on the line to be seen saving Fury from another knockout and then dealing with the backlash.
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) is already quite rich, with an estimated net worth of $140 million, which will likely be bumped to more than $200 million. He doesn’t need the extra money he will get for a fight against Joshua. So maybe Fury will choose the retirement route if he is badly beaten and knocked out by Usyk.
Last updated on 09/07/2024
