What’s Left for Tyson Fury to Achieve in His Career?
Tyson Fury has announced that he will continue boxing, despite retiring after his latest victory over Dillian Whyte.
Fury, who has yet to suffer defeat in his professional career, has established himself as one of the best heavyweights of the modern era. The success over his British compatriot back in April brought his record up to 32-0-1.
The WBC heavyweight champion had too much power for Whyte, and he stopped him in the sixth round of their contest at Wembley Stadium. Here is a look at what could be left for Fury to achieve before he does retire from boxing.
Undisputed Heavyweight Champion
The primary reason Fury has chosen to return to boxing is to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion. No boxer has held all the major belts in the division since Lennox Lewis did so in 2000.
By capturing the WBA, IBF and WBO titles to go with his WBC belt, Fury will add another chapter to his legacy. He would prove he is one of the greatest heavyweights the sport has ever seen.
Nobody has had all four major belts around their waist in the heavyweight division in the WBA-WBC-IBF-WBO era. Since 1983, when the IBF were formed, only five men have been undisputed heavyweight champions. Mike Tyson, Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe and Lewis have managed it.
Fury will be keeping a close eye on the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua later this year. The latter beat the British boxer by unanimous decision in their bout last August.
As of 25th June, Usyk is the odds-on favourite at 4/9 with Betway to defeat Joshua once again and prove his first success was no fluke. The former undisputed cruiserweight champion is also unbeaten since turning pro, so a fight with Fury would be a huge event.
Anthony Joshua Showdown
Due to their nationalities, Fury and Joshua have been linked with an all-British showdown for a number of years. Their pair were expected to meet in 2022, however, Joshua’s defeat to Usyk ended any hope of that fight taking place this summer.
A clash with Joshua remains very lucrative for Fury, even if the former WBA, IBF and WBO champion loses again to Usyk. AJ has had wins over Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and Kubrat Pulev, so he has proven he is one of the leading boxers in the division.
Given they have traded insults at each other for large periods of time, Fury may still feel he has a score to settle with Joshua. It is a fight that would be seen as dangerous for the reigning champion, as the former Olympic medallist, who is a gymmate of Irish boxer and EUBA bronze medallist Kieran Molloy, has a lot of power in his punches.
Fury may see a fight with Joshua in front of his home supporters as the perfect way to end his incredible career, especially if he prevails in a convincing fashion.
UFC/Mixed Code Fight
Another option for Fury outside of his current sport is to take on UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The latter has stated how keen he is to face the boxing champion in the near future.
As we saw in 2017, when Floyd Mayweather Jr took on Conor McGregor, fights between competitors from two different sports can attract a great deal of interest. McGregor impressed that much that the former UFC champion is keen to box again.
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The Predator is known for being the biggest puncher in the UFC. As the Independent reported, he showed that when he stopped the then-champion Stipe Miocic to capture his title. Many fight fans would love to see how that matches up against Fury.
Ngannou has defended his UFC heavyweight crown just once since winning it. He defeated number one challenger Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 to prove that he remains the man to beat in his division.
There has been some talk about the two stars of their sport meeting in a hybrid contest as discussed by Ngannou during a podcast which was transcribed by ESPN. With Fury always open to new challenges, it could be something he would be keen to discuss, at the very least.
Fury remains one of the biggest names in the world of sport. All eyes will be on him for his next move. Whatever he decides to do, it will generate a lot of interest around the globe.
