Tyson Fury has claimed he is willing to fight Anthony Joshua for free – weeks after demanding £500 million to come out of retirement.
Fury insists he has hung up his gloves for good after successfully defending his heavyweight world title against Dillian Whyte in April. But he has no plans to relinquish his belt and claims he could hold on to it for 12 months without stepping through the ropes.
And with Joshua set to take on Oleksandr Usyk in their world title rematch next month, Fury has now claimed he would be willing to face his fellow Brit – if tickets are free and if the bout is aired on free-to-view television.
Speaking on the latest leg of his countrywide tour on Saturday night, Fury said: “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 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 has convinced few people of his retirement with his wife Paris and dad John among those who expect him to return to the ring. And his promoter, Frank Warren, also expects the giant traveller to fight on.
“When I was young, that’s what turned me on to boxing – watching Muhammad Ali. He was unbelievable,” Warren told the Telegraph. “An unbelievable athlete, an unbelievable sportsman, all the things that you’d never seen in the sport before: loud, brash, and more importantly he could fight.”
“Everything was unbelievable, and I was lucky enough to meet him when he came over to the UK when I was a kid, through my uncle. I met him a couple of times. And Tyson Fury is the closest thing we have had to Ali in the heavyweight division. Tyson’s a fighting man. And I feel in his heart he will fight again.”
Fury last month doubled down on his retirement claim by insisting it would take an astronomical sum to lure him back to training camp.
“I’d probably want half a billion to come out of retirement,” he said. “I’m telling you the truth, if you want me out of retirement it’s gonna cost half a billion.”