Tyson Fury proposes to fight Anthony Joshua for free in latest U-turn from retirement

British heavyweight boxing superstar Tyson Fury has claimed that he is willing to fight former world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, for free in his recent u-turn from retirement. 33-year-old Fury had earlier announced his retirement from boxing in April, after smashing Dillian Whyte and successfully defending his WBC and Ring Magazine titles. Fury has now insisted that he is still retired but has offered to fight fellow British boxer Joshua for free if the latter defeats the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch next month.

Ukraine’s Usyk claimed the titles after defeating Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September, last year. Meanwhile, as per a report by Mirror, speaking on the latest leg of his ongoing countrywide tour, Fury stated that he would be willing to fight Joshua if the tickets are free and the match gets aired on free-to-view television. At the same time, the 33-year-old also claimed that if he wanted, he could hold on to his IBF and Ring Magazine belts without stepping into the ring for a year.

“It's all about money, Mr Businessman; he's not a fighting man. I swear to God I hope he wins the fight against Usyk so that I can come out of retirement and fight him for free. However, the terms are these; I want it at Wembley stadium, I want it free to enter and I want it on free-to-air in television in this country. I'll fight him in England, not abroad in a foreign country for more money; here for free for the people,” Fury said. 

A closer look into Tyson Fury's boxing career-

However, it should also be noticed that Fury had said last month that it would take an astronomical amount of money to come out of retirement and join the training camp. “I'm telling you the truth, if you want me out of retirement it's gonna cost half a billion,” he had explained. Fury retired from the sport with an unbeaten record of 32-0 in his professional career.

Out of the 32 bouts, Fury earned a total of 23 wins through knockouts, while he returned with a draw only on one occasion. Fury most notably defeated American boxer, Deontay Wilder, in their trilogy fight in October last year. The first fight between Fury and Wilder had ended in a controversial draw in December 2018, while Fury captured the WBC and the vacant Ring Magazine heavyweight title by defeating Wilder in their first re-match in February 2020.

(Image: AP)