Tyson Fury quit boxing in January after losing twice to Oleksandr Usyk. His dad, John Fury, has now spoken out for the first time since before the first fight.
Fury's shot at becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champ since Lennox Lewis ended in disappointment last May. He lost on the cards to Usyk, who almost stopped him in the ninth round. Fury thought he'd won, but the rematch in December was even more convincing for Usyk. Fury again claimed he was robbed.
The 'Gypsy King' shocked fans by retiring in January, walking away from a big-money fight with Anthony Joshua. His dad John believes Tyson won both fights and shared his thoughts on what went wrong.
"In the first one, he needed more rest time to be honest with you. He put a full camp in, got cut, he had three weeks rest and then he was back in the gym for another eight weeks. You can't do those things. So, by the time he got in the ring, he'd overtrained. There was nothing left of him."
John says Tyson faced a $10-15 million fine if he postponed again. He told his son to take the hit, believing the promoter wouldn't enforce it. But Tyson didn't want to let the fans down.
For the rematch, John wasn't as involved. He noticed Tyson wasn't in top shape.
"Tyson could've been in a lot better shape, let's put it that way. And I'm gonna end on that. Have a look at him when he's in there. If you put the work in, hard work, you just don't look like that."
John thinks the perceived 'robberies' left a bitter taste, leading to Tyson's retirement.
"They stole his belts off him. They've took the biggest ticket seller out the game. Cause without Tyson Fury, there's no dance partners. This Usyk vs Dubois, that's never going to be a 95,000 crowd. And 'The Gypsy King' is the best dance partner anyone can have. If you want money, big money, without 'The Gypsy King' you're not getting it … They've shot themselves in the foot, bad business."
Despite retiring, Fury has hinted at a comeback on social media. He's mentioned interest in a trilogy with Usyk and fans still hope for that Anthony Joshua showdown.
John Fury believes the boxing world has lost its biggest draw. He doesn't think the upcoming Usyk vs Dubois fight will come close to matching Tyson's appeal.
