Tyson Fury has once again come out of retirement, surprising absolutely nobody. The Gypsy King will return to the ring on 11 April to face Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It will be the fourth time he has walked back through the door after swearing it was shut for good, and those who fancy a bet on Tyson Fury this time around will have many comebacks’ worth of evidence to inform their thinking.
Let’s take a look at each of Fury’s retirement chapters.
Retirement one
Fury never even threw a punch before walking away the first time. He had been booked to fight David Haye twice, in September 2013 and February 2014, but both were cancelled due to Haye’s injuries.
When the second cancellation came, he fired off an angry message on social media announcing he was done with the sport and done with the people in it. He confirmed it the next day, writing: “I’m not in a bad mood or anything. I’ve retired 1000000% no matter what, I’ll never fight again.”
His retirement lasted all of three months, and he returned in February 2014 to stop Joey Abell in four rounds in London.
Retirement two
After beating Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 to become unified heavyweight champion, Fury’s life away from boxing fell apart. A rematch with Klitschko was scheduled and pulled twice, as Fury struggled badly with his mental health.
In October 2016 he posted that boxing was “the saddest thing I ever took part in” and announced his retirement. He vacated his titles shortly after and had his boxing licence suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control while a UK Anti-Doping case ran its course.
His license was reinstated in January 2018 after the doping case had been resolved, and he was back in the ring by May that year, beating Sefer Seferi comfortably on his return. He went on to draw with Deontay Wilder later that year before knocking him out twice to reclaim the WBC title.
Retirement three
After stopping Dillian Whyte with a sixth-round uppercut in front of more than 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Fury announced in the ring that he was retiring. He had promised his wife Paris that the Whyte fight would be his last and he said it publicly, telling the crowd he had nothing left to prove. On his 34th birthday in August 2022, he reaffirmed it on social media, writing: “I’ve finally decided to walk away & on my 34th birthday I say Bon voyage.”
Two months later, a trilogy fight with Derek Chisora was confirmed. He stopped Chisora in the 10th round at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December 2022, and went on to beat Francis Ngannou the following year before his two fights with Oleksandr Usyk. For anyone who likes to bet on boxing, the swift comeback was hardly a shock.
Retirement four
Having lost to Usyk on a split decision in May 2024 and then by unanimous decision in their rematch in December 2024, Fury posted a 17-second video announcing he was retiring. He closed it with “Dick Turpin wore a mask,” a pointed reference to the notorious thief from the 18th century, making clear he felt the judges had stolen both decisions from him.
Few people in boxing took it as anything other than a man letting off steam after the worst run of his career, and they were right. By January 2026, he had confirmed his return, and within weeks, the Makhmudov fight was announced.