"I think this is it, it might be the final curtain for The Gypsy King and what a way to go out," says Tyson Fury after flooring Dillian Whyte in sixth round to retain WBC heavyweight title; Fury backs Whyte to be world champion one day but says he came up against "best man on the planet"
Monday 25 April 2022 14:32, UK
Tyson Fury has suggested he will retire after retaining his WBC heavyweight title and undefeated record with a devastating sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium.
Fury, who has now won 32 and drawn one of his 33 bouts, floored Whyte with a stunning right uppercut in front of 94,000 fans in the capital.
The 33-year-old then said "I think this is it" when asked in the ring whether he would fight again.
Fury told BT Sport: "I promised my lovely wife Paris that after the third fight with Deontay Wilder that would be it and I meant it.
"I then got offered to fight at Wembley and I thought I owed it to the fans, to every person in the United Kingdom, to come here and fight.
"Now it's all done I have to be a man of my word. I think this is it, it might be the final curtain for The Gypsy King and what a way to go out!"
Fury's promoter, Frank Warren, told BT Sport: "If it was going to be the last fight, it'll be the last fight. That's his decision, he's the guy getting in the ring. If it is his last fight, he has gone out on such a high."
Fury outboxed challenger Whyte before flattening him, with referee Mark Lyson waving off the fight with one second remaining in the sixth round.
However, the champion showed Whyte respect afterwards, saying he believes the Brixton-based boxer will be a world champion one day.
He added: "Dillian Whyte is a warrior and I believe he will be world champion but tonight he met a great in the sport, one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
"There is no disgrace. He is a tough, game man. He is as strong as a bull and has the heart of a lion.
"But he was not messing with a mediocre heavyweight. He was messing with the best man on the planet."
On the punch that knocked Whyte out, Fury added: "Lennox Lewis would have been proud of that."
Despite Fury saying it might be the "final curtain", Sky Sports Boxing's Johnny Nelson believes more chapters will be written in his career.
"I think Tyson Fury has no intention of retiring; this is talk," Nelson said. "His life is boxing, that's what he does… he's not going to retire. Even his wife said that there's no way he's going to retire.
"He'll fight on; the fights that are there for him are Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk and these fights can happen if there's enough money on the table.
"Let's see how Joshua goes with Usyk and if he loses, a fight between him and Fury can still happen.
"The possibilities are always there, but you've got to remember who the A-side is and the B-side. Like it or not, Tyson Fury is top of the tree"
