Former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury has retired more times than some can count, but apparently, he’s "back" again.
“Guess who's back? The one and only,” Fury said in an Instagram video post on Tuesday morning. “Shout out going out to the big “Bronze Bomber” [WBC titleholder] Deontay Wilder. Big respect for giving me the motivation, telling me I can’t do it and I am finished. I am back for you, baby. I am coming back for you.”
Fury (25-0, 18 KO’s), 29, of the United Kingdom, twice pulled out of a rematch with the now-retired Wladimir Klitschko in 2016 and was eventually stripped of his world titles for twice testing positive for cocaine in tests conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
The 6-foot-9 Fury also had his license suspended by the British Board of Control for allegedly using the banned anabolic steroid Nandrolone, stemming from his February 2015 fight with Christian Hammer, which he won by eighth-round TKO.
“I’m going to fulfill that promise I gave to you [Wilder] a few years ago. You know what I’m talking about.”
After Wilder scored a brutal ninth-round knockout of former fringe contender Artur Szpilka in January 2016 at Barclays Center, Fury told Wilder after the fight “Whenever you’re ready “Bum Squad,” anytime, anyplace, anywhere. I’ll fight you in your backyard. Like I done Klitschko, I’ll beat you, you bum. You’re a bum!”
Wilder (38-0, 37 KO’s), 32, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, defends his title against Bermane Stiverne in a rematch on Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Although Wilder-Fury would undoubtedly be a great fight, with the ongoing suspension, another Fury “retirement” is more likely.