The highly anticipated fight comes after months of speculation, including reports that Fury would defend his WBC title against Oleksandr Usyk, or face fellow Brit Joshua. Fury instead chose to fight 36-year-old MMA icon Ngannou over 10 rounds in the boxing ring.
While Fury is still a box-office fighter he is in the twilight of his career, something which has prompted him to consider retirement. “Age catches up with everybody,” Fury said during an appearance on Heart Radio. “And every top-performance athlete at 35 is probably past their best.
“But I just feel like I’m getting better and more intelligent as I’m getting older. So who knows how long I’ve got left? Maybe not long, maybe a year, maybe two years. Maybe one fight. Who knows?”
It isn’t the first time that The Gypsy King has hinted at retiring from the sport. In 2013, Fury saw two fights against David Haye cancelled with the Londoner requiring shoulder surgery.
The decision promoted an announcement on Twitter by Fury, stating: “Hi everyone, I have officially retired from boxing. There are too many bent people in the sport. They will have to f**k someone else. Goodbye boxing.” Fury then fought Joey Abell at the Copper Box in London just several weeks later.
The Wythenshawe-born fighter also announced his retirement after defeating Dillian Whyte in 2022 but chose to face Derek Chisora later the same year.
“I think every fighter knows when it’s time to walk away,” Fury added. “But they always leave it too long anyway. I’m sure I’ll make the right decision.
“I’ve got a lot to do in my life. I’ve got a lot of kids and I need to be in the right mind. I don’t need to be getting injured or whatever because it would’ve all been for nothing – the whole career.”
Fury will fight Ngannou after an eight-month break from the sport which saw him defeat Derek Chisora for a third time via a 10th round TKO. Ngannou’s last fight came back in January 2022 when he defeated Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision, his last bout while signed to the UFC.