John Fury has revealed the only fight that would tempt his son Tyson Fury back into the ring would be the long-awaited showdown with fellow British fighter Anthony Joshua.
The WBC heavyweight champion has insisted repeatedly that his boxing days are behind him after walking away from the sport to spend more time with his family after his victory over Dillian Whyte in April.
The 33-year-old could, however, be tempted by a return to the ring to fight the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs Joshua, who will meet in their rematch in August with the Ukrainian’s IBF, WBO and WBA titles on the line.
John Fury (right) insists Anthony Joshua fight may tempt Tyson Fury (left) out of retirement
Fury walked away from the sport after his victory over Dillian Whyte to retain his title in April
Fury has denied reports previously that he is already in talks to fight the winner and his dad has now come out to reveal that he will remain retired unless fellow Brit Joshua wins the rematch in August.
‘Yes. Nobody else will. To be honest with you, he’s never come out the gym,’ John Fury told the Metro.
‘He’s obsessed with training at the moment, twice a day, every day. I’ve been participating in some of it myself.
His dad John has revealed that he will remain retired unless he can fight Anthony Joshua
‘He enjoys training, the pressure is off and he loves the gym life. He’s turned into a gym rat basically. It’s funny to see but he is.
‘He’s super fit and he’s enjoying his time out the ring. Whether it’s going to be permanent or not, it’s up to him. He says he’s retired but you never know with Tyson.
‘He’s training very hard for a retired man in my book. But that’s up to him, we’ll see in the future.’
Joshua suffered the second defeat of his professional career against Usyk last September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Joshua (left) suffered the second defeat of his career against Oleksandr Usyk (right)
The 32-year-old bounced back after his last defeat and will be hoping to do the same this time round after he was heavily criticised for failing to use his size to his advantage after the rematch was confirmed for Saudi Arabia on August 20.
A formal announcement of the hundred-million-dollar plus deal for Joshua v Usyk II will be made early next week.
The Middle East Kingdom is poised to invest even more extravagantly in the Gypsy King’s return from brief retirement for a spectacular which they regard as ‘the next Rumble In The Jungle.’
The bid by Fury, as holder of the WBC title, to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion is being pitched for between the World Cup semi-finals and Final in Qatar, probably on December 17, while tens of thousands of football fans are in the Middle East.
A source close to the Saudi Royal family says: ‘This is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030 project to improve the quality of life for residents and visitors to the Kingdom alike, leading towards net zero carbon emission.
‘The Crown Prince wants the world to recognise Saudi Arabia as much more than an oil country, of which sports and culture are an integral part.’
The mega-bucks deal has been brokered for the Saudi government by long-time boxing fan Prince Khaled bin Abdulaziz through Skill Challenge Entertainment, who have secure the global rights for Joshua v Usyk.
Fury is waiting in the wings to fight the winner of the rematch between Joshua and Usyk
For now, Watford-born star Joshua, has made major changes to his team with Rob McCracken, his trainer since the day he turned professional, moving on in a bid to regain his belts.
McCracken has been replaced by Angel Fernandez, who stepped up to take the reins, and Robert Garcia has also joined the camp ahead of the rematch.
Fury added: ‘He’s a big strong guy and it was only a game plan that let him down last time and Usyk, even though he got the decision, he knew he was in a fight. He was smashed to bits was Usyk.
Anthony Joshua has teamed up with Robert Garcia to reclaim his titles from Oleksandr Usyk
‘So, all AJ has to do is tweak a few things and sheer size and power wins. He needs to get his mind right though as that’s the key to unlocking it all. I believe he can do it.
‘He’s got a funny way of doing things. He beat Ruiz in Saudi on the return so why not? If anyone’s capable its AJ.
‘I hope he does win and who knows, a fight against him might just tempt Tyson.’
All eyes turn to the rematch between Joshua and Usyk with the Fury family saw to be watching on closely.
Source: Daily Mail Online