Is this really it for Tyson Fury? The key questions after he beat Dillian Whyte
Fury has been insistent for weeks that he would end his career irrespective of the outcome against his British rival at Wembley Stadium.
Tyson Fury successfully defended his WBC heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium with a highlight-reel one-punch stoppage in the sixth round against Dillian Whyte before reiterating his plans to retire.
Even those close to Fury have cast doubt on whether he will stick to his word and hang up his gloves, with WBA, IBF and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk and British rival Anthony Joshua waiting in the wings.
Here, the PA news agency takes a deeper look at the issue after a memorable night in front of a 94,000 crowd – a post-war British record – and what might be next for boxing’s blue riband division.
Is this really it for Fury?
The self-appointed ‘Gypsy King’ certainly sounded convincing but he would not be the first fighter to backtrack on retirement. Father John recently branded his son as the “biggest wind-up merchant in the world”, which has more than a whiff of truth to it. Ultimately, time will tell. He spent his post-fight press conference insisting he was done but added the caveat that exhibitions could tickle his fancy. In his sights is UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who was ringside on Saturday night and has long spoken of his desire to cross over into the boxing world, even if he is sidelined after knee surgery.
But what about the winner of Usyk-Joshua?
Is there anything else that could tempt him back?
Not really. The consensus is Fury has done more than enough to establish himself as the dominant heavyweight of his era, having ended the long reign of Wladimir Klitschko as world champion in 2015 before getting the better of the hard-hitting American Deontay Wilder in one of the great modern trilogies. His five fights before Whyte this weekend were Stateside, including the three against Wilder, and he is one of the few Britons who can justifiably claim to have cracked America. With it has come many millions of pounds. He has won all four major world titles, there are few gaps in his CV.
How will he go down in history?
What now for the heavyweight division?
