All the signs Tyson Fury’s latest retirement is rubbish – and why I’m convinced it’s a ploy to drive Anthony Joshua mad

CALL ME a miserable fat little boxing cynic, but Tyson Fury’s latest retirement just doesn’t wash with me.

It wasn’t too long ago we were hearing he had a 10-fight deal with Saudi Arabia, that he was gonna fight Anthony Joshua twice, then he was going to face Joseph Parker twice.

INSTAGRAM@TYSONFURY

Tyson Fury announced his latest retirement from boxing on social media[/caption]

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His retirement comes less than a month after a second straight defeat to Oleksandr Usyk[/caption]

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It also comes just days after Anthony Joshua challenged him to a Battle of Britain[/caption]

REUTERS

Fury’s so-called “retirement” is a carefully executed ploy[/caption]

He was planning on doing every fight in the world – there was even talk he’d rematch Francis Ngannou and do a better job.

IF he has retired, then he goes out with an incredible career having made over £300million in boxing events alone, let alone all the extra stuff.

He does so having sacrificed bundles of his own life for such success.

We know his wife Paris suffered a miscarriage going into the first Oleksandr Usyk fight.

We know for Deontay Wilder III, his little girl was put in intensive care, he barely even trained for that fight, he was sleeping on the hospital floor.

IF he has retired, IF it is genuine, then it’s been an incredible career.

And for the big showman, it’s probably a nice little short sharp way to go out by just posting a video while sat inside his car.

But I can’t help but think that it’s a bit of a ploy to drive AJ a little bit crazy.

AJ was at the Ring Awards the other day and put out a social media post saying “Fury, where are you? I’m looking for you.”

It’s the only fight that AJ wants, and Fury being wise and looking at the Floyd Mayweather playbook, knows that once you retire, you have to be coaxed out of retirement.

And how do you coax someone out of retirement? Loads more readies.

The fact of the matter is, Fury has always told us: I’m a prize fighter, I do it for money, I’m gonna do it for as long as I can and make as much money as I can.

So the idea that he suddenly ducks out now doesn’t seem to ring quite true.

As Fury made the announcement, I was with Frank Warren and he said hadn’t spoken to Tyson about it today, but that he hopes that it’s true, that Fury’s done enough and made enough money.

IF it’s true, then what an incredible career.

Fury and AJ have put British boxing on the map where it’s not been for decades, not since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago. So thank you.

But rather than being at his leaving party, which I’m sure The Sun would be invited to, I suspect we’ll see him boxing AJ in Riyadh in a few months.