Tyson Fury announced his retirement from boxing following back-to-back losses against Oleksandr Usyk (Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Renowned boxing coach Teddy Atlas has voiced his support for ‘s decision to retire, cautioning that a reversal could see him follow in the footsteps of Muhammad Ali. The two-time heavyweight world champion sent shockwaves through the boxing community last week when he announced his retirement from the sport.
This came on the heels of his second consecutive defeat at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk. In a brief video shared on social media, the British boxer declared: “Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” he said to the camera.
“I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing. It’s been a blast, I’ve loved every single minute of it. I’m going to end with this. Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, see you on the other side. Get up! ” Despite being widely expected to face fellow Brit Anthony Joshua in the ring this year, it seems that match is now off the table. While many were disappointed by his decision, Atlas maintains that the ‘Gypsy King’ made the right choice.
Speaking , he stated: “I think it’s time for him to walk away. I love to see a movie end in a good way. My wife gets nuts, she will not watch a movie with me because she says, ‘as soon as it gets to that bad part you don’t like the way it’s going to end, you turn it off’. Yeah, I do. I turn it off. I don’t want to see it, so I would like to see him walk away.”
“He’s made enormous amounts of money. God bless him. He could take care of his family for who knows how many lifetimes and he earned it. I’d like to see him walk off into the sunset before the sun crashes down, before it gets all dark. I’d like to see him actually on his own, in the right way, walk off into that movie sunset, I don’t want to see another Muhammad Ali, the great Muhammad Ali stay too long.”
Ali, a three-time former world champion, is widely considered among the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport and sadly passed away in 2016. He had suffered for 35 years with Parkinson’s disease, having been diagnosed three years after his retirement in 1981. And 68-year-old Atlas believes Fury fears retirement, but is hoping that the British star can find his way without boxing.
“Yes [Tyson Fury fears retirement] because I think boxing stabilises his life. I have a lot of respect for Tyson Fury. I think he’s a tremendous fighter and I think he’s a great symbol,” he continued. “I do think he’s afraid [to retire], because I think that having this in his life, having boxing, the structure of boxing, the discipline, the people around him in camp, is a reason to get up every day and be strong. He’s smart, he’s not dumb. He’s very smart. I think he realises that it’s important in his life, but at some point, he has to learn to live life without the help of boxing.
“It’s kind of like you stop doing drugs or you stop drinking. Whatever it is. You have a sponsor, you have somebody that’s with you, and he goes to the meetings with you, and he meets you every day when you feel like you’re getting a little weak. He’s there for you, that person. But someday he can’t be there. There has to come a day where it’s just you. And that day is here. He realised, he’s smart, he can’t box forever. And I think he’s worried about losing that guy. That guy not being there with him to say ‘you can be strong’ and ‘you got to be strong, buddy’. I think he’s concerned about that, and I don’t blame him, and I pray for him. I pray for him that he can find his way without boxing.”