Anthony Joshua is hopeful of one day sharing the ring with Tyson Fury despite ‘The Gypsy King’ insisting he will remain retired.
On Saturday, Fury told his 6.7million Instagram followers that he is ‘happy’ and ‘content’ with his decision to hang up his gloves.
Hours later, AJ took to Snapchat to upload a picture of himself watching Fury box, with the caption: “One of these days, it will be me standing in the opposite corner, ready and fully charged spiritually.”
Fury called time on his career in January following back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
However, a series of social media posts suggested he could be on the verge of a comeback.
Last week, he revealed he was attending a ‘business meeting’ with his father, John Fury.
And one month prior, he had uploaded a video of himself and long-time trainer SugarHill Steward in the gym together.
But Fury put an end to the speculation over the weekend while on holiday with his wife, Paris Fury.
“Good morning, people,” he said from a beautiful view of Lake Como in Italy.
“I hear a lot of talk about ‘The Gypsy King’ returning to boxing and I ask this question first of all: for what? “I’ve been around the world and back again, and here we are, this is what retirement looks like for the Gypsy King, not too shabby.
“I’m in no rush at all to come back to boxing and get my face punched in.
“For what? What would I return for? I ask that question. So here we are, I am retired and I am staying retired.
“I have nothing to prove to anybody and nothing to return for. God bless you all, and see you on the other side.”
British boxing fans have been clamouring to see Fury and Joshua exchange leather for the best part of 9 years.
The pair have been in negotiations several times, but nothing has ever come to fruition.
The closest they came to sharing the ring together was four years ago when the Brits held all four major sanctioning body belts between them.
Both parties reached an agreement for a two-fight deal, with the first meeting set to take place in Saudi Arabia in August 2021.
However, a judge in a US court ruled that Deontay Wilder was entitled to a third fight with Fury, thus derailing their plans.