Tyson Fury says he will quit boxing after world title defence against Dillian Whyte
Tyson Fury revealed that his fight with Dillian Whyte would be his last as he accused his opponent of “showing a white flag” for failing to attend a news conference at Wembley Stadium in advance of their World Boxing Council heavyweight showdown on April 23.
Fury said: “This is the final fight of my career, I’m retiring after this. $150 million in the bank, healthy, young, I’m gonna buy a massive yacht abroad. I’m retiring, I’m out, this is my final fight, I’m done.”
Fury, who said he wanted to spend more time with his wife and six children, also reserved special praise for the three fellow heavyweight world champions, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, and Oleksandr Usyk, for joining the war effort in their native Ukraine.
Undefeated Fury’s defence of the WBC crown against mandatory challenger Whyte is being seen as the biggest all-British heavyweight spectacle since Lennox Lewis knocked out Frank Bruno in Cardiff 27 years ago, but it was a bizarre afternoon at the national football stadium as the champion took on all the promotional duties in Whyte’s absence. Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, branded Whyte’s no-show as “disgraceful and not professional”.
He explained that Whyte’s team had requested extra payment “for promoting the fight” beyond the 80/20 split ordered by the WBC sanctioning body in favour of the champion after the British promoter won the purse bid a month ago with a record-breaking £31 million.
Fury will earn £25 million for the fight, while Whyte is set for the biggest payday of his career, £6 million. “Whyte will come to regret this. It’s a huge occasion and he is not here. But I’m not concerned. This is the Tyson Fury Roadshow. It is never about the opponent,” Fury said.
Fury added, nonetheless, that his mandatory challenger was being taken as seriously as any opponent he has faced in an unbeaten 32-fight career. “He’s a game guy, a tough fighter, and he ranks in the top 10 of the opponents I have faced. They always have a puncher’s chance [against me]. If I can’t look like Muhammad Ali boxing this guy then I’m in the wrong position and I’m not as good as I think I am. There’s a gulf in class. You’re going to see a boxing masterclass, the Ferrari racing the Vauxhall Corsa.”
Warren said: “We agreed the fight under the terms of the contract. Then he wanted to renegotiate. We offered Whyte a private jet to fly here, and the answer was still ‘no’. I have never heard of a fighter not turning up to publicise a fight. It’s a disgrace. It’s the biggest payday of his career. He is in Portugal and it is very disappointing.”
On the Klitschko brothers and Usyk, Fury said: “It’s fantastic. I’ll be the first one to join up if England get involved or America.”
Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte is live on BT Sport Box Office on April 23
