‘This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King’: Tyson Fury says he’ll retire after promising his wife Paris that he’d hang up his gloves following sensational KO of Dillian Whyte… despite lure of a potential unification bout later this year
Tyson Fury reiterated his intention to retire from boxing after he stopped Dillian Whyte in the sixth round of their Battle of Britain at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
Fury retained his world heavyweight title in front of a record British crowd of 94,000 fans courtesy of a brutal uppercut that thudded off the challenger’s chin and sent him tumbling to the canvas.
Whyte rose to his feet but was unsteady on his legs, prompting referee Mark Lyson to wave off the fight.
Tyson Fury retained his WBC heavyweight belt against Dillian Whyte at a sold out Wembley
The Gypsy King ranked the decisive uppercut as the finest punch of his professional career
But he reiterated his intention to retire from boxing after he stopped Whyte in the sixth round
Victory keeps Fury, the WBC titlist, on course for the undisputed crown but afterwards the 33-year-old said he could now hang up his gloves after a ‘fairytale few years’.
‘I have to be a man of my word. I think this is it,’ Fury said.
‘This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King. What a way to go out… I’ve fulfilled everything I’ve wanted to achieve, I’m going to retire as only the second heavyweight champion after Rocky Marciano to retire undefeated.’
Fury, who hinted at future exhibition fights and even a switch to Mixed Martial Arts and WWE, added: ‘I promised my lovely wife Paris of 14 years that after the (Deontay) Wilder third fight, that would be it. And I meant it. We had a war. It was a great trilogy.
‘But I got offered to fight at Wembley at home, and I believe that I owed it to the fans, I owed it to every person in the United Kingdom to come here and fight at Wembley. Now it’s all done.’
The referee stopped the fight in the sixth round after Fury’s huge uppercut left Whyte dazed
Fury said that he had promised his wife Paris that he would retire and was sticking to his word
Afterwards Fury ranked the final uppercut as the finest punch of his professional career.
But he paid tribute to Whyte, who struggled to gain a foothold in the title fight he had craved for several years.
‘Dillian Whyte is a warrior and I believe that Dillian will be a world champion,’ Fury said. ‘But tonight, he met a great in the sport. I’m one of the greatest heavyweights of all time… I’m a legend in this game.’
He added: ‘There’s no disgrace. He’s a tough, game man… but you’re not messing with a mediocre heavyweight. You’re messing with the best man on the planet.’
Whyte made the curious decision to box southpaw during a quiet opening round before referee Lyson had to intervene as the action grew increasingly messy.
Fury said that Whyte was ‘as strong as a bull’ and tipped him to be a future world champion
Then, in round five, a Fury jab stiffened Whyte’s legs before the uppercut closed the show. Afterwards, Fury sung American Pie and said: ‘What a welcome I had tonight… I’ve never experienced any atmosphere like that.’
He added: ‘I’m overwhelmed with the support. I can’t believe that my 94,000 countrymen and women have come here tonight to see my perform. I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much to every single person who bought a ticket here tonight or stayed up late to watch it on TV.’
Fury then emerged in his pants for the post-fight press conference and revealed his pre-fight prediction in the changing room: ‘This is going to be an exceptional performance, I’m going to put on a show. I could feel it.’