Fury announces retirement (again) in tweet saying he won’t apply for licence
● Ex-heavyweight aims dig at BBBOC ● Haye says Bellew ‘lacks motivation’
Tyson Fury appears to have announced his retirement again after revealing he will not apply for a new boxing licence.
Fury has not fought for nearly two years since ending Wladimir Klitschko’s world heavyweight title reign in Dusseldorf in November 2015.
Having twice postponed rematches with Klitschko last year, the 29-year-old lost his boxing licence last October when he admitted he was using cocaine and struggling with depression.
Fury had hoped to return to the ring earlier this year but that plan was scuppered when his National Anti-doping Panel hearing was adjourned in May.
Not for the first time, the British boxer now seems to have announced he is quitting by claiming on Twitter that he will not apply to the British Boxing Board of Control for a licence.
He wrote: “After thinking long & hard about my return I will not be applying for a BBBOC boxing license. After the way they have handled stuff. No thanks.”
Fury was at ringside last month when his cousin Hughie Fury came up short in his bid to take the WBO heavyweight title from champion Joseph Parker in Manchester.
Meanwhile, David Haye has questioned Tony Bellew’s motivation ahead of their 17 December rematch, believing the money the Liverpudlian has earned means he has no need to fight on. Bellew was paid the biggest purse of his career when they first fought in March, and revealed that after his unexpected win he seriously considered retirement.
Former world heavyweight champion Haye has earned even more than his rival during a decorated career, but insists that unlike the younger fighter, he is still active to prove he is the world’s best.
He requires victory at London’s 02 Arena if he is to succeed in his ultimate aim of challenging reigning IBF and WBA champion Anthony Joshua, and he said of Bellew: “Before the first fight he wanted to secure his family (financially).
“I know what he got paid for that first fight and, mission completed, he’s financially secure for the rest of his life. He’s a multi-millionaire.
“What are his motivations? I didn’t believe I’d get this opportunity again, but for some reason he wants to. He’s said on numerousoccasionshowdangerous boxing is.”
It was revealed after the first fight, Bellew’s first at heavyweight, that he had written his will in the build-up.
Haye said: “The fact that he changed his will means he knows the dangers. That’s why it’s strange he’s going to do it all over again.
“He said ‘I’d never buy a Rolls Royce or a flash car’. So why are you doing it? He said ‘The reason I’m doing it is because I’ve got a screw loose’.
“I can’t figure it out. People rob banks to secure their family, put their life on the line, but they do it to secure their family. When you rob the bank once, do you go back again?
“My motivations are revenge, and I want to be the best heavyweight in the world. He’s said he doesn’t want to fight Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder, because he doesn’t believe he’s big enough. Why go back and do it again?”
The victory over Haye remains the highest-profile of Bellew’s career. It came after he had already achieved his ambitions of winning a world title at cruiserweight and, as a passionate Everton supporter, fought at Goodison Park.
His trainer Dave Coldwell – part of Haye’s team when the 36-year-old remained world champion and was at his peak – has made no secret of his wish for his fighter to retire, and Bellew also said that his wife Rachel had “begged” him to do so.
“I was 17-and-a-half stones thinking ‘Can I be arsed to get this weight off?’ said Bellew. “Then I watched boxing on the telly: I enjoy fighting, I can’t stop. My missus begged me to stop and I was very close to considering it.
“I thought about [retirement]. My hand was a mess in the dressing room. I’ve had six fractures between the two hands. I don’t know how much more my body can do. He [Haye] still doesn’t rate me. He thinks he’s going to walk right through me. He will lose to the fat boy.” ● Carl Frampton will face Mexico’s Horacio Garcia in Belfast next month in his first bout since splitting with managerandmentorbarrymcguigan. Frampton linked up with promoter Frank Warren last month and was already primed to fight at the SSE Arena in his home city on 18 November, but his opponent was confirmed yesterday.
Garcia has won 33 of his 37 professional outings and will take on Frampton across 10 rounds at the featherweight limit, with the Northern Irishman hoping a successful display will be a springboard to bigger fights.
“After thinking long & hard about my return I will not be applying for a BBBOC boxing license. After they way they have handled stuff. No thanks”
TYSON FURY