John Fury Reveals the Fight After Which Tyson Fury Should Have Retired
John Fury Reveals the Fight After Which Tyson Fury Should Have Retired
John Fury has named the night he believes his son, Tyson Fury, should have walked away from boxing. Speaking to Playbook Boxing, Fury said the October 2023 clash with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou convinced him the time had come, with the long-awaited Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua bout now set for December 11 in Cardiff.
“Nah, he should have stopped, he should have stopped. You can push that boat out too far, and at some point it’ll sink,” John said, reflecting on more than a decade at the top of the heavyweight division.
Why the Ngannou fight “sealed the deal”
John said the family had agreed on a plan years ago: win a world title, defend it a few times, make money and leave the sport on top.
“What I said to him stick to the game plan we had. Lucky enough win a world title, defend it a few times, make a few million quid and leave it,” he said. “Walk away ahead. We knew he could beat Dillian Whyte, we know he could beat Chisora.”
That plan unravelled, in his view, on the night Fury met Ngannou in Saudi Arabia. The boxing debutant dropped Fury before the favourite escaped with a split-decision win. “But when he fought Francis Ngannou, that sealed the deal for me. No more, I told him that, I said forget it from here on,” John said.
Fury then lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, defeats that hardened his father’s view that he had carried on too long.
The road to Cardiff
He beat Wladimir Klitschko on away soil in Germany in 2015 to win a world title, then stepped away from the sport for a couple of years while dealing with mental health and addiction issues.
He returned to win two fights and draw one in his trilogy with Deontay Wilder, before stopping Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora. The Ngannou scare and the two Usyk defeats then raised fresh questions about how much he has left.
Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua: December 11 in Cardiff
The Cardiff date ends years of failed negotiations for a fight that took a decade to make. Fury and Joshua will meet at the Principality Stadium on December 11, with tickets due to go on sale on October 9.
At one stage the showdown was headed to Madison Square Garden in New York. Fury agreed to fight in the United States, but Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn refused, and the bout returned to British shores.
Boxing pundits predict it will be the biggest fight of Fury’s career in terms of viewership and commercial value, with the contest to be streamed live globally on Netflix.
A father who will not be ringside
John Fury will not be in Cardiff to watch. Asked whether he would attend, he told Playbook Boxing: “Let me tell you, you have more chance of seeing a cow fly than me bothering with it. I don’t like the people in it, and I know accidents can happen. I’m not involved, so I don’t want to go to the fight.”
He said he would do what Tyson’s mother does and wait for someone to tell him who won. His absence reflects a strained relationship in recent years, and he was missing from his son’s launch press conference.
His concern is his son’s health. “I look at him as a father with children, and if he gets brain damaged, it is worrying,” he said. “If anything happens to him and he gets injured permanently, the money means nothing to you. For me it is an accident waiting to happen.”
Frequently asked questions
When is Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua?
December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Tickets go on sale on October 9, and the fight will stream live worldwide on Netflix.
Why does John Fury think Tyson should have retired?
He told Playbook Boxing the Francis Ngannou fight in October 2023 “sealed the deal” for him. He wanted Tyson to stick to the original plan: win a world title, defend it a few times, make money and walk away ahead.
Will John Fury attend the fight in Cardiff?
No. He said there is “more chance of seeing a cow fly” than him attending, and that he will wait for someone to tell him the result.
What is Tyson Fury’s record?
His standout wins include Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, two wins and a draw against Deontay Wilder, plus victories over Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora. He lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024.
