Tony Bellew believes Tyson Fury is unlikely to retire from boxing while the possibility of a blockbuster showdown with Anthony Joshua exists – despite his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday.
Fury lost to Usyk via unanimous decision, seven months after he’d previously crashed to defeat against the Ukrainian in Riyadh.
Talk of the Briton potentially hanging up his gloves has arisen in the short time since, with his long-term future up in the air.
There remains the possibility he could yet face Joshua, however, in what would represent the biggest fight in British boxing history.
Boxing news: Tony Bellew believes Tyson Fury is unlikely to retire while the possibility of a blockbuster showdown with Anthony Joshua exists – despite his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday
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Bellew, speaking to the Daily Express, has been asked about Fury’s future.
And the former British boxer believes Fury is unlikely to walk away from the sport just yet due to a showdown with Joshua potentially taking place in the future.
“I don’t think that ship will ever sail,” he said.
“You’re telling me you couldn’t stick 100,000 in Wembley to watch those two fight?
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“I think you’d get 50,000 just at the press conference. It’s coming, it is on. It’s on the charts and it’s on the board.
“Everyone wants to see it. The sad part is that it will be when both are just slightly past their sell-by date, by the looks of it.
“It looks like it’s going to be [Floyd] Mayweather and [Manny] Pacquiao all over again. It’s been held back and held back.
“You have to remember, the only person who has signed up to these fights and hasn’t pulled out is Anthony Joshua.
“He signed to fight Fury, he signed to fight [Deontay] Wilder, he’s fought Usyk twice, he’s fought [Wladimir] Klitschko.
“All these people, he signed to fight and they pulled out on him. He signed to fight Tyson Fury and Fury had to pull out because of the arbitration from Wilder.
“He signed to fight Wilder and Wilder pulled out because of the mess he was in with Fury.
“It is what it is. It’s a mess, really, but 100 per cent that fight will happen one day.
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Boxing news: Tyson Fury lost to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night
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“It’s huge. It’s a massive blockbuster event and it will probably go down as the biggest domestic boxing match ever.”
Joshua, like Fury, appears to be on the wane.
The Watford-born star has lost to Usyk, Andy Ruiz Jr and Daniel Dubois during the course of his career so far.
He was poor back in September, with Dubois stunning his countryman with a sensational win at Wembley.
Boxing news: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua could yet face off one day
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While Fury could face Usyk, it’s unclear what Usyk will do next.
The 37-year-old was called out by Dubois after his victory in Riyadh last weekend – and Usyk appears ready to face the 27-year-old for a second time.