Tyson Fury claims he is returning to the ring for the fans and not for himself.
Fury announced his retirement shortly after his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, which was his second loss to the Ukrainian that year. Fourteen months later, he is back in action and booked to face Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.
Fury knows that short-lived retirements have become a recurrence in his career, but he believes he is back to appease fans this time. ‘The Gypsy King’ said he returned only to “make boxing great again,” claiming ChatGPT told him the sport is at its best when he is active.
“I came back for one reason only, and that’s to make boxing great again,” Fury said at his kick-off press conference. “Since I retired for a fifth time over a year ago, boxing, to me, has gone on a downward slope. It’s become quite boring. Boxing is at its maximum potential when Tyson Fury’s actively fighting. I didn’t say that; the cleverest AI said that — ChatGPT. So believe that.”
Tyson Fury just said he came out of retirement because ChatGPT said boxing is boring without him 😂 pic.twitter.com/WGH3jXDFut
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) February 16, 2026
Fury compared his reason for returning to United States President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“I came back to make boxing great again. Like Donald Trump wants to make America great again, I want to make boxing great again.”
President Donald Trump | Andrew Craft / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Boxing might not necessarily be stale, but the heavyweight division has been on ice since Fury’s retirement. Usyk has only fought once since his pair of victories over Fury, knocking out Daniel Dubois in July 2025 to reclaim undisputed status in another rematch.
Tyson Fury envisions another heavyweight title run
Despite his 0-2 record against the lineal heavyweight champion, Fury believes another belt is in his future. The 37-year-old said he still believes he beat Usyk in both of their encounters and predicts ‘The Cat’ will be calling for a trilogy bout by the end of the year.
Usyk has already relinquished one of his titles since his win over Dubois due to another injury preventing him from facing WBO mandatory challenger Joseph Parker. The WBO subsequently had Parker face Fabio Wardley, who pulled off the upset to become the organization’s new heavyweight champion.
Tyson Fury | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
With Wardley set to defend his title against Dubois, Usyk’s future remains up in the air. The 39-year-old is rumored to be waiting for the April 4 bout between Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora while nursing minor injuries. Many expect Wilder to potentially be next in line to challenge Usyk if he beats the retiring Chisora.
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