On Saturday, Tyson Fury lost a 12-round unanimous decision to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All three judges scored the bout 116-112, or eight rounds to four.
MORE: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 fight updates, results, highlights
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) was attempting to avenge his only loss and join an exclusive club of three-time heavyweight champions. In the annals of boxing history, only Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Michael Moorer and Vitali Klitschko have had three title reigns. Holyfield holds the record at four.
Alas, it was not to be for "The Gypsy King", and Usyk reigns supreme as the best heavyweight of this generation, as well as the finest pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.
This is a bitter pill to swallow for Fury, who sacrificed so much to prepare himself for a second shot at the Ukrainian star.
When asked about his future at the post-fight press conference, the ex-champ was non-committal, so fans can only rely on guesswork for now.
The Sporting News looks at how 2025 could play out for Tyson Fury.
Will Tyson Fury fight Oleksandr Usyk again?
In all likelihood, we can draw a line under the Usyk-Fury rivalry. Despite the Englishman protesting against the decision, the bottom line is that Usyk won a close fight.
"If he wins one and I win one, I can't say I'm better and he can't say he's better," Fury told DAZN via The Daily Mirror before the fight. "There has to be a third one."
If Fury had prevailed, then demand for the rubber match would have been huge. With Usyk up 2-0, the trilogy is all but dead in the water.
Will Tyson Fury fight Anthony Joshua?
With Usyk winning their second fight, options for Fury are limited. However, if he's to fight again, the obvious choice would be to take on former two-time heavyweight king Anthony Joshua.
This "Battle of Britain" has been discussed for several years and would still be a financial bonanza in the U.K. The two ex-champs could sell out Wembley Stadium and conceivably break pay-per-view and gate records on home soil.
Following Joshua's devastating knockout loss at the hands of Daniel Dubois in September, promoter Eddie Hearn kept the door ajar for a Fury showdown.
"We fancied [beating Dubois] and facing the winner of Usyk versus Fury," admitted the Matchroom boss via talkSPORT. "Now we may end up fighting the loser of that fight if it's Fury."
Have the stars finally aligned?
MORE: SN's Top 12 best heavyweight boxers
Will Tyson Fury fight Daniel Dubois?
Dubois is the heavyweight champion of the IBF, which is the major sticking point with this fight.
In 2015, the organization stripped the Manchester man of their title for not agreeing to face then-mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov. Fury responded by literally putting the IBF belt in the toilet.
Almost 10 years later, Fury's relationship with the IBF remains fractured. After paying the New Jersey-based organization a fortune in sanctioning fees ahead of the first Usyk encounter, Fury was aghast to discover that he did not hold a top-15 rating with the IBF following the fight.
"I'm obviously, if not the best, the second-best heavyweight on the planet," Fury told The Stomping Ground via talkSPORT. "And I'm not good enough to be in their top 15? It's a joke, isn't it?"
Meanwhile, Dubois will have his work cut out when he faces former WBO champ Joseph Parker in Riyadh on February 22.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more >
