Not everybody wants to see Tyson Fury back in the ring.
His dad wants him to retire.
That’s a lone opinion amid all the intense speculation about whom Fury should fight next in the wake of his stunning seventh-round stoppage of Deontay Wilder on Saturday night in Las Vegas. But it’s an opinion that matters more than most when Fury sits down at the dinner table with family and tries to figure out what’s next.
“I want my son to retire now,’’ his father, John Fury, told Good Morning Britain.
John Fury, who raised his son to fight, thinks there’s not much else to do. There are still three significant belts, all held by Joshua. There’s still a contract option that Wilder says he will exercise for a third fight. Tyson Fury still has three fights on his deal with ESPN. There’s still huge money on the table.
But there’s also an old line about quitting when you’re ahead. It applies, perhaps, to boxing more than any other pursuit. The longer the career, the higher the risk of serious injury.
“I think he’s done enough,’’ John Fury said. “He’s got no more to prove. He’s proved he’s been a worthy champion for his country. He’s been 13 years as a pro, and he’s always been the opponent. Wherever he’s gone to, it’s been an uphill battle for him.
“He’s [31] years old, he’s got a young family, and I do believe his children deserve a father, and he’s done enough. That’s my opinion. I want him to pack it in now, and I’ve said that to him.”
The pressure to fight on, however, is immense from his fans, especially at home in the U.K. The potential for an all-U.K. showdown with Joshua for the undisputed title is already being called The Battle of Britain. Fury has never been more popular. He’s a rock star, and the fans want an encore or three. It would be hard to walk off the stage. But John Fury says his son has thought about it.
“I think it’s in the back of his mind, to be fair, because he can’t do any more,’’ the elder Fury said. “He’s won every professional title there is to win.
“I think enough’s enough, and there’s more to life now.”
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