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Tyson Fury is not prepared to end his retirement from professional boxing but is trying to get back inside the ring for exhibition fights. The former heavyweight champion said he’s looking to fight some marquee boxers who have also called it a career.
Fury doesn’t want to have another professional boxing match, telling talkSPORT that it would take a $500 million payday to force him to unretire. Instead, the 33-year-old is aiming for an exhibition fight against the likes of Mike Tyson or Lennox Lewis.
“The difference is, the exhibition is you’re not there to win or lose,” Fury explained to “Good Morning Britain.” “You’re there to enjoy, have a good time, and put on a show for the fans. You can fight old-timers, famous people, whoever you want. I’m looking at fighting Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno, whoever. The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, that would be fantastic. You never know who we could be fighting on one of these shows, but that’s what I’m open to in the upcoming future.”
We can't say we're not disappointed @Tyson_Fury! _
We'll take exhibition fights if it means we can see the World heavyweight champion fight again! pic.twitter.com/WjbVjLnKC4
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 15, 2022
Fury described an exhibition fight as “Hollywood-style entertainment,” though it’s hard to believe that The Rock would be a realistic opponent. There have been rumors that The Rock might return to WWE for a match at WrestleMania 39 next year, and even that is up in the air because of the actor’s busy schedule.
An exhibition fight between Fury and Tyson is much more realistic. Tyson had an exhibition bout of his own less than two years ago, fighting Roy Jones Jr. to an eight-round draw on Nov. 28, 2020. According to Compubox, Tyson out-landed Jones Jr. 67 to 37 in total punches.
Tyson will turn 56 years old on June 30. Lewis is 56 years old and has indicated that he was in talks to face Tyson in an exhibition fight, though nothing materialized.
Lewis retired after defeating Vitali Klitschko in a heavyweight championship fight on June 21, 2003. Lewis knocked out Tyson a year earlier and finished his career with a 41-2-1 record.
Fury defeated Dillian Whyte on April 23 at Wembley Stadium to retain his heavyweight titles and improve his undefeated career record to 32-0-1. UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou was in the ring following Fury’s last bout. Fury teased an upcoming “hybrid fight” between himself and the MMA star.
During his run as a professional boxer, Fury had a match at WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia in October 2019. One unconfirmed report said Fury was paid $15 million for the eight-minute match.
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images
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