Tyson Fury has admitted that money is now the only thing that motivates him in his boxing career – completely contradicting his previous quotes that he was in the sport to define his legacy. The Gypsy King is currently preparing for the biggest fight of his career to date in a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk – seen as a 50/50 fight in Saudi Arabia.
A Fury win would ultimately secure his legacy as the unquestioned greatest heavyweight of his era, while being in the conversation of perhaps being the greatest of all time.
Previously, this is something that has motivated Fury – and why he remained in the sport after multiple retirement proposals. However, this no longer appears to be the case. Speaking at a media day ahead of his fight with Usyk, Fury admitted that money alone is what motivates him.
He told reporters: “If it was belts that drive me I’d go to Matalan and buy 50 belts. It’s the money that drives me, not the belts. I’ve been very open in my whole career telling you all it’s only about the coins and I’ll stand by it today… So for me to say to you all, ‘Oh, I wanna win 20 belts, it’s not about the money,’ it ain’t true, is it? It ain’t true.”
This completely goes against what he had said after defeating Dillian Whyte in 2022, when he had threatened to retire.
After that win, Fury told reporters: “There’s a lot of money to be earned, but for me, I come from f*** all. It has never been about money. I am not a money person. I do not care about money. I drive around in an ’07 Passat.”
Despite numerous retirement attempts, Fury has now stated that he could fight 10 more times before retiring – doing so in Saudi Arabia where he is given larger pay packages.