Who would have thought Dick Turpin would be the name circulating around major boxing news at the start of 2025?
Well, Tyson Fury has made that happen after announcing his retirement from the sport with a video statement posted on social media.
The Gypsy King said in his post on Monday afternoon: “Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet. I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing it’s been a blast.
“I’ve loved every single minute of it, and I’m going to end with this. Dick Turpin wore a mask.
“See you all on the other side.”
Fury made sure to exaggerate his mention of Turpin and it’s left fans trying to work out what he meant by the statement.
So here, talkSPORT.com takes a deeper look at the quote…
What did Fury’s ‘Dick Turpin’ quote mean?
Turpin was a notorious robber in England in the 18th century.
He was a highwayman who became famous for robbing on horseback and leading a gang of criminals throughout the early 1700s.
The Essex-born burglar was sentenced to death in 1739 at the age of 33 after being found guilty of two counts of horse theft.
Turpin committed a lot of his crimes while wearing a mask to help conceal his identity and reduce the chances of getting caught for his illegal acts.
The full phrase ‘at least Dick Turpin wore a mask’ is used in the modern day by people who believe they are being robbed by someone or ripped off.
It implies that at least Turpin protected his identity when robbing, while others may cynically attempt to steal from others with a bare face.
In Fury’s instance, he could be relating this to his recent loss to Oleksandr Usyk, potentially aiming a dig at boxing judges or bosses involved in their fight.
He was beaten for the second time by bitter rival Usyk in December, and he was sure to make it clear that he thought he should have won the rematch.
Speaking as he walked to his dressing room after a unanimous decision loss in Saudi Arabia, Fury said: “Robbed there.
“I swear to God I thought I won it by at least three rounds. I bossed the fight, on front foot all night.”
Then in his post-fight press conference, the Gypsy King continued: “It is what it is, I am not going to cry over spilt milk, it has happened now.
“I have been in boxing all my life and you can’t change any decision, but I will always feel hard done by. When you don’t get a knockout, you can’t guarantee a win.
“I think I won both fights. There is no doubt in my mind I won this fight. I think Usyk got a Christmas gift but it’s not Oleksandr’s fault.”
As well as this, fans have speculated that he may be hinting at being robbed or ripped off during fight negotiations with Anthony Joshua.
Fury had been insisting that he was still up for delivering the highly-anticipated all-British heavyweight showdown with AJ in the future.
However, that’s now on the rocks after his decision to supposedly call time on his career.
And he may be using the Turpin reference to put some blame on Joshua’s camp for a potentially low offer in contract talks.
So, if this was the case, Fury may be using the statement as a negotiation tactic.
