Tyson Fury is "terrified" of retiring from boxing - "It's more addictive than anything"
It's not easy to retire from boxing, just ask Tyson Fury.
'The Gypsy King' has been out of action since a knockout victory over Dillian Whyte in April. Following that win, the WBC Heavyweight Champion announced his retirement. However, he instantly went back on that and teased a clash with Francis Ngannou.
That possible clash with 'The Predator' faded away, and instead the Brit aimed to face the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 2. 'The Cat' prevailed, but declined a December date with Fury. 'AJ' later did the same.
As a result, Tyson Fury will face Derek Chisora later today in the U.K. The pair have faced off twice previously, in 2011 and 2014. The champion easily dominated both bouts, with 'Del Boy' winning only a few rounds across the two contests.
Ahead of his return to the ring, the WBC Heavyweight Champion reflected on his brief retirement and admitted that the whole ordeal was legitimate. In an interview with Sky Sports, Fury stated:
"I'm terrified of it. Hard is an understatement. I can't think of the most complex word to describe giving this up. It's more addictive than anything on the planet. I think going one on one with another highly trained athlete, you've got all the crowd there, the electricity of everything."
Tyson Fury reveals when he will retire
Tyson Fury will retire whenever he's shown the way to the door.
In the sport of boxing, it is very rare for a fighter to go out on top. Examples can be counted on one hand of fighters who left when the going was good. Names such as Lennox Lewis and Floyd Mayweather are sadly in the minority.
For the vast majority of boxers, they will end their careers on their backs looking at the lights. Roy Jones Jr. is possibly the best example. 'Captain Hook' couldn't be touched for the vast majority of his career. However, he stayed around too long and was knocked out viciously several times.
Enzo Maccarinelli knocks out Roy Jones Jr in vicious fashion. #Boxing https://t.co/6COxDzuqEf
Tyson Fury is well aware of how addictive boxing is, and he's aware he's more likely to end up in the second scenario than the first. In an interview with Sky Sports, the champion noted that he will leave the sport when God is ready. He stated:
"So it's definitely the boxing side of it [which is addictive]. I believe when God's ready for me to move on and get out of boxing, I'll be shown a way out. And whatever I do next will be double as big as what I'm doing now."