A former champion suggests that fans might have seen the last of boxing icon Tyson Fury inside the ring.
Fury, famously known as ‘The Gypsy King’, had to delay his highly anticipated heavyweight bout against Oleksandr Usyk, initially slated for February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
The 35-year-old had been diligently preparing for the showdown before sustaining a cut above his eye during sparring, sidelining him from the match. Now rescheduled for May 18, both fighters aim to unify the heavyweight division belts.
Fury’s most recent bout was against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in October, leading former WBA super-middleweight champion Groves to speculate that this could have been Fury’s swan song after withdrawing from the Usyk fight.
“There are all these stories Fury’s had a terrible camp, he’s been dropped in camp, he’s out of shape, he’s past it, the Ngannou fight reflects where he’s at now,” Groves told iFL TV. “Well, what if none of that’s true?”
“What if he’s had a fantastic camp, he’s had fantastic sparring? [What if] he’s high-flying, and he’s [saying], ‘Right, I’m going to show the world what I’m capable of and beat this Ukrainian guy, and get the belts,’ then two weeks out he gets cut?” he continued.
“That’s going to be even harder to get over mentally and emotionally than having a stinker of a camp and trying to turn it around in one day, so we might never see Fury fight again, who knows?”
Usyk has also shared his sentiments on Fury’s injury, expressing that he has an even greater appreciation for his opponent. “Of course, more. Why? Because it’s the man who has my fourth belt. It’s the man who helped me become famous a lot,” he said.
“Because we, all people, must love friends, [people who are] not friends, acquaintances, all people. It’s great when you are polite, not dirty.”
