Tyson Fury: My father wanted me to retire six years ago after second Deontay Wilder fight. But for me it's everything

8 April 2026, 16:14 | Updated: 8 April 2026, 17:44

Criticism from his own father will not distract Tyson Fury ahead of his fight with Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Fury returns to boxing on Saturday after bringing a year-long retirement to an end.

His father, John Fury has publicly warned him against making a comeback.

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Fury admits that his father did want him to retire once and for all some time ago.

"My dad wants the best for his son; he wanted me to retire six years ago after [Deontay] Wilder II. Maybe I should have done, maybe I shouldn't have done," Fury told Sky Sports News.

"But at the end of the day, that concern's coming from a father, someone's family, someone's blood. For him there's no financial gain from me fighting; it doesn't matter. But for me, it's everything. It's everything that I've always done, it's everything that I love to do and it's something that I'll continue to do until I've done what I've wanted to do."

It's uncertain whether John Fury will attend Saturday's fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"If he comes fantastic, if he doesn't come, also fantastic, it's not going to make me perform any better, any worse if Mike Tyson's in the crowd or anybody, it doesn't matter," Fury said.

"It's been a while and I've missed it. Now I'm back I've brought all this action back to the game."

Spencer Brown, who is promoting the event, has worked with Fury for many years. He's convinced the feud won't disrupt the former world champion.

"I don't think so. I think John says it from the heart and if you have a son who's a boxer, would you be saying the same thing?" Brown told Sky Sports News.

"Tyson's at the twilight end of his career and how much more he's got in the tank we'll see. He'll want to go on probably a bit further than what we've anticipated. That's their business. That's a father and son situation but they've had worse than this before, they've come back. John loves his son. He'd die for him tomorrow.

"That's John, he's a big character," Brown added.

"I know in my heart that they'll make this up. That is their business. I don't get involved in their business but it will all level out, like it always does with sons."

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Tyson Fury: My father wanted me to retire six years ago after second Deontay Wilder fight. But for me it's everything