"THE KING MUST RETURN": TYSON FURY CONFIRMS 2026 COMEBACK TARGET
The two-time champion, who previously said he had no reason to fight, declared, "The king must return to his throne." The Usyk trilogy is set for April 18, 2026.
It looks like Tyson Fury is aiming to win back his world titles instead of fighting Anthony Joshua in a Battle of Britain when he comes back from retirement in 2026.
Fury retired from boxing last December after losing twice in a row to Usyk, the unified heavyweight world champion.
But, as he did in 2022, the two-time champ pretty much said he's coming back to the ring after only six months. Earlier this year, Fury posted on Instagram that he would fight Usyk for a third time on April 18, 2026.
Before he quit, people thought he would fight Anthony Joshua, but it seems his main goal is now to have a third fight with Usyk.
He wrote, The king must return to his throne [sic]. There is a long and lonely road that only I can walk on, but after the long and hard battles, it awaits immortality!
Gods fighting a one-man army—the battle was won over 2000 years ago by a man who goes by the name of Yesuar; in his holy name I march forward, 2026.
Fury's record is 34-2-1. He had a tough time against Francis Ngannou before losing to Usyk twice.
Even though this post suggests he's coming back, Fury has changed his mind about retirement a lot lately. In October, he said he had no reason to get back in the ring.
In an interview with FurociTV, Fury said, "There's no real reason for me to go back in the boxing ring." I'm 37 years old; I've been punched for the last 25 years. Why would I want to go back to boxing?
It used to be for the money and the titles, but now I've got more money than I can spend, I've got lots of belts and titles, and does it make me any happier? No.
Was the chase better than the victory? Yes. The climb was better than reaching the top, to be fair. That's always how it is.
I could go back to boxing whenever I want, but I just don't want to. I'm not interested in that attention or the spotlight or getting punched again. I'm not interested; it doesn't do anything for me.
You could offer me £1bn today, and it wouldn't matter, because I don't care about what other people think anymore.”
TYSON FURY BLASTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER DANIEL DUBOIS STOPS FABIO WARDLEY IN MANCHESTER
Tyson Fury has labelled Anthony Joshua "chinny" after Daniel Dubois secured the WBO heavyweight title against a resilient Fabio Wardley.
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Tyson Fury wasted no time after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley this past weekend, using the moment to take a shot at Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up his second heavyweight title Saturday night in Manchester, grabbing the WBO belt from Wardley in a wild, bloodied battle that’s already being called a fight of the year candidate.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Dubois, though. He hit the canvas twice in the first three rounds but bounced back hard, battering Wardley late and leaving his face a mess as the final bell sounded.
Wardley never actually went down during the fight, despite looking wobbly near the end. Credit to him for sheer toughness, but Dubois still beat him decisively. This was Dubois’ first victory since his massive upset over Anthony Joshua earlier in 2024, when he floored AJ four times in one night.
On Sunday, Fury chimed in about Dubois’ latest win. With his own fight against Joshua rumoured for later this year on Netflix, Fury saw an opening to stir the pot.
“Just been thinking about Dubois’ crazy fight last night,” Fury said. Dubois fought [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought. [Filip] Hrgovic stopped him but never put him down. Fought Wardley last night and stopped him, but didn’t put him down. He hit Usyk with bombs but didn’t drop him. But against Anthony Joshua? Drops him five times.”
Fury added, “I’m not saying Joshua’s got no chin, but facts are facts. Take it however you want. Nobody else went down, not Miller, not Hrgovic, not Usyk, not Wardley. But Joshua hits the deck five times? Chinny, get up, slink!”
Fury is coming off a comeback win over Arslanbek Makhmudov and has already signed on to fight Joshua this year. Joshua will warm up first against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Pregna in Saudi Arabia on July 25 before facing Fury.
Promoter Frank Warren says Fury vs. AJ will probably land in October, though Fury might want another tune-up, which could push things back a bit.
As for Dubois, he’s got options. There’s talk of a rematch with Wardley, a chance to settle the score with Usyk in a trilogy, or a domestic showdown with Moses Itauma. Dubois’ dad, Stan, told talkSPORT he’d rather see his son fight another British heavyweight next, not Usyk.
HOW DANIEL DUBOIS SURVIVED TWO KNOCKDOWNS TO STOP A BLOODY FABIO WARDLEY
"I had to dig deep." Read Daniel Dubois' full reaction to his stunning comeback victory against Fabio Wardley in Manchester.
The punch that changed everything wasn't thrown by either of the fighters.
Fabio Wardley came out blazing in his title defence, dropping Daniel Dubois just 10 seconds in. He did it again in the third round, making it look like his big night. But then, something strange happened. As Dubois got up after the fourth round, his trainer, Don Charles, slapped him hard on both cheeks.
That’s when Dubois woke up. “I had to make him realise what he needed to do,” Charles said afterwards. It’s not exactly the kind of thing you see at team-building seminars, but it worked. Dubois turned on, and suddenly Wardley’s reign started to unravel.
Wardley had picked Dubois for the first fight since collecting the WBO belt that Oleksandr Usyk dropped. Honestly, it looked like a smart pick: he dropped Dubois twice and set the tone. But after that slap, Dubois started seeing Wardley’s moves coming; those wild lunges became easier to dodge.
He landed his stiff jab and followed up with savage right hands. Wardley’s jaw somehow took the hits, but his nose was pouring blood, and his right eye was almost swollen shut. He kept pushing forward, showing crazy heart, while Dubois just kept piling on. The fight turned into a brutal spectacle, the kind you can’t look away from.
Wardley got checked twice by doctors but kept fighting. Honestly, it could've stopped before the second-to-last round, when referee Howard Foster finally stepped in. Dubois got his second world title; Wardley, battered and worn, just managed a thumbs up to his mum.
Dubois summed it up later: “I had to dig really deep. When you’re a warrior, you go to dark places. I was nervous at first, all over the place, and had to fight my own battles. That slap woke me up. My dad and everyone were in my corner; I couldn’t let them down.
“Fabio came to fight; he was tough. We were exhausted; it was a real war. I had to use all my skills to win. Great fight, great battle, and I’m No. 1 again.” Sure, Usyk might argue about that, but Dubois proved something; he got up off the canvas and won.
People have called Dubois a quitter since the Joe Joyce fight six years ago. Wardley himself thought Dubois would fold again in Manchester, and for three rounds it looked like he was right until reality snapped Dubois awake.
