“It’s never been about money, it’s not even been about belts, it’s not been about legacies. It’s not been about anything apart from punching a motherf*****’s face right in on the night. That’s all it’s ever been about.”
Those were the words of Tyson Fury as midnight ticked closer on Saturday night, as the dawn of a new chapter began to fade into focus. The WBC heavyweight champion assured those present – yet did not insist – that his knockout of Dillian Whyte marked the end of a professional boxing career that has been as glittering as it has been mesmerising.
If this really is the end – exhibition bouts against Francis Ngannou and WWE stints aside – then Fury will not carry the status of WBC champion much longer. For the second time, he will relinquish heavyweight gold. At least this time it would be on his own terms.
He might never have craved money, but he has more than he could spend in two lifetimes. In some ways, he is living his second life now, having come back from a brink that he had been malevolently nudged towards by his own demons.
He might have never craved belts or a near-perfect in-ring legacy, but his respective reigns as WBC champion and WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO title holder, and his stunning victories over the likes of Deontay Wilder and Wladimir Klitschko, have ensured them. So has his undefeated record.
He certainly got to punch many a man in the face, doing so as effectively as some of the greatest heavyweights to have ever graced the ring. Whyte was the latest in a long line, and at Wembley Stadium the challenger was reduced to the worst version of his boxing self by Fury's guile. Eventually, he was reduced to a helpless heap on the mat, then in the referee's arms.
Fans will debate whether Fury's legacy will be missing a crucial accolade if he never achieves undisputed status. That would not be entirely fair on the 33-year-old, who has held all of the major belts – just not at the same time – and fought 33 times professionally without tasting defeat. That he came so close to losing against Wilder on two occasions, only to repeatedly rise from the canvas and beat down the Bronze Bomber, only adds to the enthralling nature of the Gypsy King’s reign atop the sport.
The Briton has more than earned the right to walk away from this most dangerous and unforgiving of arts, and for all his faults, he seems to be a man of his own unique principles. Much in the way that Khabib Nurmagomedov has honoured his promise to his mother by staying retired, it is easy to imagine Fury contentedly beginning his third life – one spent on the other side of the ropes, raising his children with his wife Paris and with his senses intact.
Yet for Fury to walk away now would almost feel inappropriate. He is healthy and in his prime, and the next challenge – the final challenge – is so close and so conquerable.
Fury may not care about achieving undisputed status, but for a man whose life has centred on hitting men in the face, how much resistance can be mustered when Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk comes calling. And they will come calling.
Nurmagomedov retired unbeaten, having just retained the UFC lightweight title, and he continues to honour his promise to his mother. He is seemingly apathetic to the allure of one more fight and of reaching 30-0. Can Fury resist similar temptation, however? Whether it is Joshua or Usyk whose hand is raised this summer, whoever's shoulders and waist are covered by the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles, the winner will target Fury.
Either man would be the underdog. Fury is surely too slick for Joshua and too big for Usyk.
It is easy to believe that Fury does not care about the money, belts and legacy that would come with a win against either fighter. It is hard to believe that he does not care about punching either man in the face.
When that prospect is proposed to Fury this summer, we will finally know whether the Gypsy King has renounced his throne.
