TYSON FURY has mocked speculation he could have retired following the postponement of his clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King was forced to push back his historic undisputed heavyweight title fight with the Ukrainian this week after suffering a cut in sparring.
Tyson Fury’s undisputed showdown with Oleksandr Usyk was postponed due to a cutGETTY
Some boxing fans and pundits suggested Fury might retire after the postponementJAMIE MCPHILIMEY
INSTAGRAM@TYSONFURYFury hit back at retirement suggestions and sent a chilling warning to Usyk on Instagram[/caption]
The latest delay to the fight led many boxing fans and even Usyk’s team to suggest Fury might retire without ever fighting the slick southpaw.
And Fury couldn’t help but laugh at those claims after it was revealed they’ll throw down on May 18.
Taking to Instagram, he said: “We keep moving forward and now we have a new date.
“Usyk’s crying his eyes out. ‘Tyson should retire, Tyson wants to retire.’
“No retirement here, motherf****r. You’re getting knocked out. Knocked spark out!
“May 18, the new date. Live and exclusive from Saudi Arabia, Riyadh season.”
Saudi boxing kingpin Turki Alalshikh has included a forfeit in the agreement for the May melee that will have both men on the hook for £8million if they pull out of the Riyadh rumble.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, he said: “I have delayed it for May 18, I guarantee for both of the fighters £10million if someone escapes from the fight.
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“We will make the people around the world know if someone is scared.”
Should unified heavyweight king Usyk pull out of the fight, Alalshikh plans to make the long-awaited Battle of Britain between Fury and Anthony Joshua.
He said: “I guarantee there will be another big fight on the same night [if it is cancelled].
“If Usyk is scared then I will call for Joshua vs Fury and if Fury is scared I will call for any fighter that Usyk wants.
“This is the fight of the century.”
Fury was full of praise for Al-Alshikh for finalising a new date for his long-overdue clash with Usyk so quickly.
He said: “We got a new fight date. Very, very quickly – I suppose that was.
“Upsetting to a lot of people, but refreshing to a lot of good people.
Will Tyson Fury really be ready for Usyk on May 18?
TYSON FURY and Oleksandr Usyk will now meet on May 18 after their undisputed fight was rescheduled following the Gypsy King’s horror cut in training.
It could mean Fury has just 17 DAYS to fully prepare for the mouthwatering clash.
Here, SunSport boxing expert Wally Downes Jr reveals whether the Brit will be fully prepared for the task at hand…
Fury insists he only needed 11 stitches on the gash over his right eye, promoter Frank Warren had earlier said 14, and it did look to be healing nicely when he appeared online to debate Usyk on Saturday evening.
Whichever it is, it makes this new scratch sound like a paper cut compared to the axe wound he suffered against Otto Wallin in 2019.
Doctors will try to ban Fury from any physical activity while the cut heals and then prescribe a very slow return to training and only when it is completely repaired will he be advised to spar.
However, trying to tell the 35-year-old Gypsy King what he can and cannot do might be a tall order for the little doctor charged with the task of policing the 6ft 9ins 20st maverick.
The maths suggests he might only have 17 days of sparring to prepare for the super-talented southpaw, who grabbed gold at London 2012 and became undisputed cruiserweight king.
And, while Fury is supposedly resting up and recovering from this latest set-back, Usyk will still be training his mind and body, doing practice rounds with giants and growing in confidence.
While Fury is sidelined, he will undoubtedly gain weight. He was as big as 22st just eight weeks out from his October scare against Francis Ngannou, so he still has not tamed his appetite.
And Fury fans will definitely worry that an enforced break, another stumbling block and another scar target for Usyk to aim his punches at, will all play into the 37-year-old Ukraine icon’s favour on May 18.
“Massive shoutout to Turki Alalshikh, they made the new date possible so quickly.”
He also showed off his since stitched-up war wound, saying: “In life, sometimes s***y things happen to you but you never let it get to you.
“You always keep moving forward. Look at that b*****d right there. Woah.
“Nice little elbow right in the eye. Nearly cost me the biggest fight in my career. But what can you do, s**t happens.”
Fury, 35, was in tip-top shape for the biggest fight of his career and was furious at suggestions he deliberately got himself injured.
He said: “This is not a blessing in disguise, but I take God’s will as it comes.
“I was 100 per cent confident I was going to knock Usyk out. I was 100 per cent ready.
“Why would I not want to fight for the biggest payday of my life?”