Boxing

Tyson Fury Coming Out of Retirement, Fighting Opponent In 2026

Boxing icon Tyson Fury is making his return to the ring.
Grant Young|
IMAGO / PA Images

British boxing icon and former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has made himself one of the richest men in the sport's history across his iconic career. This is largely owed to his two fights against undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2024 (both of which Fury lost), which reportedly earned him a total of $100 million combined.

After his second loss to Usyk, Fury asserted that he was retired from boxing, as he had made more than enough money and didn't love the sport like he once did. However, this was far from the first time that Fury declared he was retired, which meant that this sentiment fell on deaf ears for many. Most boxing pundits believed Fury was merely using retirement as a negotiation tactic to secure more big money for future fights.

And this is indeed the case, as Ring Magazine made an X post on July 2 that read, "‼️ Tyson Fury is set to come out of retirement and return to boxing in 2026, Turki Alalshikh has confirmed.

"Alalshikh said: 'I talked with him, and I have his word to have him in Riyadh Season in 2026. We have a rabbit to hunt.'"

With one of the biggest icons (literally and metaphorically) in the sport of boxing set to make his return to the ring next year, the question becomes who Fury will fight.

And there's no question that a fight against Anthony Joshua is what the world wants to see, as these two British heavyweight have been circling each other for years without a fight ever materializing.

However, when speaking with BoxingScene on July 2, Tyson asserted he would only come out of retirement to fight one man.

"If I was gonna come back, I would come back for Usyk," Fury said. "But I want a fair result in England... That would be the one I'd want immediately. That would be the fight that I'd want next, in England."

Time will tell whether Fury gets his wish.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.