The former two-time heavyweight world champion is expected to fight again this year despite announcing his retirement from the sport last January
Tyson Fury is open to a showdown with Fabio Wardley should an all-British showdown with Anthony Joshua fail to materialise.
The ‘Gypsy King’ announced his retirement last January off the back of consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk. Over the last few months, though, the Morecambe brawler has hinted at a return to the ring and now looks set to make yet another comeback this year.
Fury, 37, is currently over in Thailand and has posted regular training videos to his millions of followers online. In a recent post, he seemingly confirmed his return, writing: “2026 is that year Return of the Mac. Been away for a while but im back now, 37 years old and still punching. Nothing better to do than punch men in the face and get paid for it.”
The former two-time heavyweight world champion has been getting the work in with Kevin Lerena – who currently holds the WBC bridgerweight title. “Run done today, feeling good,” he said in a recent video on social media. “Feeling sharper, faster, more ready than I was last week. Second week of training, come on. Bring it on, let’s go.”
Ahead of the Brit’s return, it remains to be seen who he will take on. Last month, reports emerged that both Fury and Joshua had agreed to face each other in a summer showdown. But there are now question marks over Joshua’s future after he was recently involved in a tragic car crash in Nigeria – which killed two of his close friends.
There are plenty of options on the table for Fury, and it seems as if he is open to a dust-up with fellow countryman, Wardley. “Big smoke for the GK after a long lay off could be an option for later in 2026. God willing,” wrote Fury. Wardley knocked out Joseph Parker in the eleventh round back in October to snatch the WBO interim title from the Kiwi. Merely weeks later, Wardley was eventually promoted to full champion after Usyk had vacated the title.
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Fans are itching to see Fury and Joshua finally square off, but the former’s promoter, Frank Warren, admitted that a possible clash may not happen until late 2026 – if it happens at all. Speaking to The Mirror, Warren admitted he is not sure what the future holds for Fury or AJ following the crash – and has now ruled out any chances of them meeting as early in 2026 as was initially planned.
“Well, boxing will certainly be the last thing on his [Joshua’s] mind, right now. He’s obviously lost two team members who were good, close friends who are now no longer with us, so that will be a big loss to him. I don’t know the extent of his injuries, but it’s also how mentally this will affect him. Boxing again will be the last thing on his mind, but tragedy can affect people in different ways; sometimes, you need something you can really focus on to pull through to the other side.”
