Tyson Fury left boxing fans with their heads in their hands after retiring from the sport for a fourth time earlier this month.
Before Fury took to social media to drop the bombshell news, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh was in the process of making the long-awaited all-British showdown with Anthony Joshua.
However, that has now been put on hold.
Several members of the boxing fraternity believe Fury has merely stepped away from the sport as a negotiation tactic to get a better deal against AJ.
But his promoter Frank Warren insists Fury’s decision was motivated by his desire to spend more time with his family.
“I’ve spoken to him a couple of times very briefly, he has been spending a lot of time with his family,” Warren told Seconds Out.
“He’s in Disneyland at the moment so he’s enjoying himself and enjoying time with his family.
“Last year, in camp he was [training for] 10 weeks and then he got the cut eye and then he went back in straight again for another few months in camp and then he was in camp for three months for the last fight.
“So it’s a long time that he didn’t get to see his family and his kids so he is spending some quality time with them.”
Asked if he expects Fury to come back, Warren replied: “At this moment in time, I don’t expect him to come back…
“He’s enjoying his retirement and spending time with his family. If he’s happy, I’m happy!”
Fury hung up his gloves for the first time in November 2013 following the breakdown of his fight with David Haye after his rival suffered a cut in sparring.
Instagram – Paris FuryHe’s been spending plenty of quality time with his family since hanging up his gloves[/caption]
Three months later, he was back in the ring against Joey Abell but his rescheduled 2014 fight with Haye collapsed again.
The domestic dust-up never materialised, and Fury continued with his career as he went on to defeat Wladimir Klitschko for the unified WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight titles.
Fury and Klitschko were expected to rematch immediately after but ‘The Gypsy King’s’ substance abuse and mental health problems forced him to call time on his career in July 2017.
Following a three-year hiatus, Fury returned to action in June 2018.
A miraculous recovery saw him snatch the WBC heavyweight title away from Deontay Wilder during an epic trilogy before defending the belt by flattening Dillian Whyte in April 2022 and then retiring thereafter.
Once again, Fury was back in the ring before the year was out as he battered an ageing Derek Chisora from pillar to post in December 2022.
Instagram – Tyson FuryFury retired for a fourth time earlier this month[/caption]
A contentious crossover clash with Francis Ngannou followed before Oleksandr Usyk handed Fury the first defeats of his professional career in back-to-back bouts.
Three weeks after their second fight, Fury took to social media to announce his fourth retirement.
“Hi everybody, I’ll make this short and sweet, I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing, I’ve loved every single minute of it,” he said in a video posted to Instagram.
“I’m going to end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, I’ll see you on the other side.”
