Tyson Fury Claims He Will 'Fully Retire' After His Upcoming Fight With Dillian Whyte

In true Tyson Fury style, the heavyweight champion of the world has sensationally claimed he will retire after his upcoming fight with Dillian Whyte.

Fury, 33, will defend his WBC title against Whyte at Wembley on April 23.

It is arguably the biggest all-British heavyweight fight since Lennox Lewis successfully defended the same WBC title against Frank Bruno in 1993.

Speaking a press conference on Tuesday to promote the fight, Fury said: "This is the final fight of my career, I'm retiring after this. $150m in the bank, healthy, young.

"I'm gonna buy a massive yacht abroad. I'm retiring. I'm out, this is my final fight, I'm done."

When asked if he was serious about his retirement claims, Fury told The Lightweight Boxing Show: “Yep, fully retired after the fight.

“Don’t call me as I won’t answer the phone.”

It remains to be seen whether Fury will indeed hang up his gloves after facing mandatory challenger Whyte.

Hugely lucrative fights could be on offer for Fury if he beats Whyte, with an undisputed title fight against Oleksandr Usyk or rival Anthony Joshua a possibility.

Ukraine's Usyk holds all the other major belts in the heavyweight division after beating Joshua via unanimous decision in September.

The pair were expected to face each other in a rematch later this year but that fight has now been thrown into doubt in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Usyk travelling to defend his homeland.

It is not the first time that Fury has claimed he will retire from the sport.

The 'Gypsy King' said he would call time on his career after beating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, only to sensationally return to boxing three years later in one of the sport's great comeback stories.

He had also suggested he was considering retirement after beating Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight in October.

Whyte, meanwhile, refused to turn up for Tuesday's press conference, instead opting to remain at his training camp in Portugal.

It comes after a lengthy dispute between the two camps over the split purse for the fight, which is Fury's first in the UK since 2018.

Speaking about Whyte's no show, Fury added: "He has definitely shown a white flag today.

"All this social media stuff, 'I'm not promoting the fight, I'm not getting involved in mind games.'

"He's given me that much more confidence it's unbelievable. He's terrified. He's definitely showing the white flag in my estimation of this fight.

"The way he's going on about it, saying he doesn't want to go face-to-face, of course he doesn't, because he'll see that fire in my eyes and he'll think, 'I'm getting smashed to bits'.

"That's what it is, it's fear, it's terror. It's all of the above and I don't blame him for not being here today."