Two-time world champion Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing. The Morecambe-based heavyweight was expected to face fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua in 2025, but it seems that this will no longer happen.
This news follows Fury’s recent loss to Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in December, marking the second time he has been defeated by Usyk. Fury disclosed his decision to retire in a brief video on social media.
Despite losing the rematch, Fury and Usyk shared a staggering £150 million, significantly increasing Fury’s net worth. Usyk defeated Fury in a unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the match 116-112, allowing the Ukrainian to retain his WBA Super heavyweight, WBC and WBO heavyweight titles.
Fury had previously pocketed £79m from his first fight against Usyk, with his net worth standing at an estimated £41m before their initial clash in May. The duo were set to split a whopping £150m from this fight, ensuring each of them would bag around £75m regardless of the result, reports Chronicle Live.
Following Fury’s loss, data analysis from JeffBet has deduced that nearly £30m of his prize money will be paid to tax authorities due to UK income tax and national insurance contributions upon his return to the UK, as reported by the Mirror. It is projected that roughly £28m will go to HMRC for income tax with an additional £1.2m for National Insurance.
Fury’s retirement announcement means he will have more time to spend with his wife Paris and their seven children. However, Fury has already stated that he won’t give any of his wealth to his seven children.
On the popular Netflix series ‘At Home with the Furys’, viewers learnt that all of the boys bear the regal moniker ‘Prince’, and upon inquiry, the heavyweight champion explained: “I’m a king and they’re princes until they earn their rightful name.”
Tyson Fury is adamant that his children—Venezuela, Prince John James, Prince Tyson II, Valencia, Prince Adonis, Athena, and Prince Rico Paris—won’t inherit his fortune. He maintains that it’s imperative for them to work hard and make their own way in the world.
“I want my kids to get their own money, do their own things and be their own people,” he stated.
“I don’t believe in just giving all your money to your kids it will make them weak, spoiled and not value anything, worthless. They’ll end up getting to 35 and never having done anything for themselves, apart from spending dad’s money.”
Fury spent a significant three months away from his wife Paris and their children in preparation for the Usyk fight. He disclosed that the couple had agreed to this separation to allow him to concentrate on the upcoming match.
This isn’t the first time the pair have experienced a temporary ‘split’. Before getting married, Paris once called off their wedding due to Tyson’s behaviour. After Tyson failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he nonchalantly informed her of moving their wedding date forward.
In her memoir ‘Love and Fury’, Paris recounts: “My fiancé clearly didn’t understand the amount of planning and organisation that went into a wedding. I was beginning to realise how incredibly impulsive he was, the sort of person who lived life in the moment and liked to make decisions on the hoof.
“In Tyson’s world, our big day could be rescheduled on a whim, just like one of his boxing matches. I was having none of it, though, and refused point blank to change the date.”
“It was one conflict after another and after an ugly slanging match with him outside Mam’s house, I decided to call time on the wedding and our relationship. He thought I was joking and when I dropped the big bombshell, then he realised I was deadly serious.”
But the lovebirds persisted and remained true to their set wedding date. They exchanged vows in Doncaster with 300 attendees cheering them on. Paris was then 19, Tyson just 20.