'It's only a short life' – Tyson Fury explains why he won't follow Mike Tyson's career path as boxing legend prepares for Jake Paul

22/05/2024 21:03

Tyson Fury insists he won’t follow in the footsteps of Mike Tyson by fighting in his 50s.

‘Iron Mike’ returns to the ring against YouTube star Jake Paul on July 20 in Arlington, Texas.

The fight has been met with outrage from many corners of the boxing world due to the staggering 31-year age gap between the pair.

Tyson will have just celebrated his 58th birthday come fight night.

Meanwhile, Paul is in his athletic prime at 27.

Despite being named after the former undisputed heavyweight champion, Fury, 35, claims he will not take inspiration from the way Tyson has closed out his career.

“I can't see myself hanging around for the next five years,” he told The Guardian.

“Never mind 20 years. I've given a lot to this game. I give all my youth, all my teenage years, all my young adult life.

“I've got to have some time to be me, really. All the things I've done and all the accolades and all the money I've earned, I've got to have time to enjoy it.

“It's only a short life, innit? We're here today, gone tomorrow."

It is unclear exactly when Fury will hang up his gloves, but it is likely he will box again after falling to defeat for the first time in his professional career against Oleksandr Usyk last weekend.

The Ukrainian slickster weathered an early storm from Fury to come back and nearly stop his adversary in the ninth round en route to a split decision victory.

They are now set to run it back on October 12/13 with Fury expected to activate the two-way rematch clause in their contract.

Fury’s promoter Frank Warren informed talkSPORT on Tuesday that his client is fully intent on boxing Usyk again.

After which, providing all goes well in the second fight, British boxing fans could finally be treated to the long-awaited clash with Anthony Joshua.

His Excellency, Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, recently declared that he is eyeing up Joshua vs Fury for March 2025.

However, that was before Usyk beat Fury.