A year outside the ring didn’t change anything. This made the situation worse. Fury looks older now. More worn. Less solid. The decline that was already noticeable in 2024 has only deepened.
Fury officially retired in early 2025 after his second defeat to Usyk, meaning this latest comeback at the age of 37 was another revolution rather than a recent beginning.
“He’s still in great shape. He lost two very close fights against Oleksandr Usyk. It’s not like, ‘Oh, he’s done,'” Hearn said to Heavenly sports. “It would be fascinating to see who he faces. I think they’re potentially talking about the April period.”
Hearn’s belief is simple to understand. He still hopes for a fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua, a fight he has been pursuing for more than a decade. This conversation is already delicate.
Joshua is currently out of the sport following a car accident last month in Nigeria and no timetable has been set for his return. If Fury looks anything other than convincing in his comeback fight, any remnants of this discussion will end immediately.
Plans currently call for Fury to return in early 2026 with a pre-season fight, with names like Arslanbek Makhmudov and Brandon Moore being mentioned. At this point in his career, Fury cannot afford to fail or look impoverished.
Even against a restricted or unproven opponent, a impoverished performance would confirm what his last three fights have already suggested. A bad night doesn’t just thwart Joshua’s fight. It shows the distance between the version of Fury sold and the one that actually appears.
Hearn continues to sell the concept of Tyson Fury as a dominant force. The ring had been saying something different for a long time.
The problem is that Fury’s career does not confirm the myth surrounding him. His decisive victory came in 2015 against 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko, a performance that catapulted Fury to fortune and instant prominence. What followed was not domination. It was a disappearance. Fury gained weight, quit the sport and spent years living off that one night.
When he returned, the CV building process began. He beats a restricted opponent, rebuilding his momentum, before defeating Deontay Wilder, a champion with power but profound technical flaws. This rivalry provided Fury with commercial success, but failed to prove lasting greatness. Since then, he has picked up notable victories against worn-out opponents like Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora. Recognizable names. Not elitist.
Hearn can still sell the version of Fury that once existed. The problem is that sports have already moved on, even if marketing hasn’t.