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WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has no intention of walking away from the sport before a showdown with domestic rival Anthony Joshua.
Fury is back in the ring on December 3, when he faces Derek Chisora in a trilogy fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Prior to making the fight with Chisora, Fury and his handlers were attempting to make a fight with Joshua – but their discussions fell apart.
On more than one occasion, Fury and Joshua have been unable to finalize a deal for one reason or another.
Provided he defeats Chisora, which he should, Fury will then target an undisputed fight with IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
That undisputed fight was recently dealt a blow, with the IBF ordering Usyk to make a mandatory defense against Filip Hrgovic.
Beyond a fight with Usyk, the ‘Gypsy King’ is still motivated to face Joshua.
“I don’t think I can retire today,” Fury said to The High Performance podcast. “Because I need that Joshua fight. We have been trying to make that fight for years. It’s the fight that people want to see. It’s the fight that I want to see as a boxing fan.
“For the last four or five years, there has been this three-headed monster: me, Wilder, Joshua. Joshua and Wilder have been slain, and I’m the last one standing. All of a sudden, you’ve got some new people coming up now – Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, Usyk’s gate-crashed the party.
“Now there’s a load of new blood that wasn’t there five years ago and it’s like, ‘can you beat this person?’. But I think it would be an absolute dying travesty if me and Joshua didn’t fight in this era.”
Joshua, a former two-time heavyweight champion, is coming off back to back decision losses to Usyk. He is expected to return to the ring in early 2023.