LONDON (AP) — Tyson Fury says his return to boxing was spurred by the deaths of two friends of rival Anthony Joshua in a car crash in December.
Former two-time heavyweight champion Fury (34-2-1) is ending a 15-month retirement from the ring on April 11 against Russian-born Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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The boxers were at the stadium on Monday when Fury revealed Joshua’s tragedy motivated him to fight again.
Joshua was in a car crash in Nigeria which killed his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele.
A week later, Fury announced his comeback. Any plans to fight Joshua this year were set aside but Fury acknowledged how his British compatriot and old rival played a part in his return.
“Tomorrow might not ever come and I suppose the biggest turning point in this comeback for me was the tragedy that happened with Anthony Joshua,” Fury said.
“I was on holiday with my family in Thailand for Christmas just to get away from the rain. I was sick of the rain, it was depressing me, and then I hear all about the bad news that’s gone on and I thought, ‘You know what, life is very, very short and very precious and very fragile and anything can happen at any given moment.’
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“You should never put things off until tomorrow, or next year, or next week because tomorrow is not promised to nobody.
“I made my mind up there and then I was going to come back to boxing because it’s something I love, I am passionate about and I have always been in love with. There is no tomorrow so that’s why I am back today.”
Fury retired after his second consecutive loss to Oleksandr Usyk at the end of 2024.
“Since I’ve retired for the fifth time over a year ago, boxing for me has gone on a downward slope and it’s become quite boring,” he said. “I am coming back to make boxing great again.”
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