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Fighting Furies – explaining old myths and family bonds

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The Furys have a compelling case to be considered the most prolific fighting family.

When Tyson Fury made his professional debut in 2008 as a lanky 20-year-old, we knew him as the son of former professional boxer John Fury, but the family’s connection to boxing goes much deeper.

Over the years, Tyson’s siblings and cousins ​​launched their own careers. Who are the Fury family members involved in boxing and what have they achieved?

Tyson Fury

Tyson, who was named after former world champion Mike Tyson, brilliantly defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 on points and won three world titles, but never defended his WBA, IBF and WBO belts, retiring due to problems with alcohol, drugs and depression.

In 2018, Tyson returned to the sport and fought an epic fight with Deontay Wilder, then stopped him in the 7th round of the rematch to become the WBC champion in 2020. After three defenses, Tyson lost the belt in an undisputed fight on points with Oleksandr Usyk and has not fought since losing a rematch with the Ukrainian in December 2024, also on points. He is currently training for his next comeback.

After two victories against Wilder and a points victory over Wladimir Klitschko, Fury will drop into the heavyweight leader position along with Anthony Joshua of the last decade, behind Usyk.


John Fury

Tyson’s dad, known as “Gypsy John,” boxed professionally in the 1980s and 1990s with a record of 8-4-1. John spent part of Tyson’s early career in prison after he was found guilty of gouging out another man’s eye in a street fight, but was released in time to watch his son become world champion in 2015. He had been around his son during fights, though not recently.


Andy Lee

Tyson’s most successful relative, a retired world champion who was in his corner during his last fights. Lee (35-3-1, 24 KO), from Limerick, Ireland, was a classy boxer who once defended his world middleweight title. He lived in America, where he was trained by Manny Steward, and in London as a professional boxer, retiring in 2017.

He trained alongside Fury’s rival and future opponent Wladimir Klitschko at training camps with Steward in Austria.

“Tyson is my second cousin because our grandmothers were sisters,” Lee told ESPN in 2014 before winning the WBO middleweight world title.

Lee is not only a respected trainer, but also a boxing expert on television.


Hughie Fury

Hughie (31-3, 18 KO), 31, made his professional debut in 2013 and boxed under the same rules as cousin Tyson at a time when they were promising to break the dominance of Ukrainian brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, who held all four world titles between them.

While Tyson became a two-time world champion, Hughie never won a world title. In 2017, Joseph Parker defeated Hughie by majority decision to retain the WBO heavyweight title in Manchester.

Hughie trained alongside Tyson until 2016, when they were both accused of testing positive for a banned substance. Tyson then retired from the sport before returning in 2018 and the pair have not trained together since.

Hughie was British champion in 2018 and despite eight consecutive wins since 2019, he is still outside the top 15 in the world.


Piotr Fury

Hughie’s father, Peter, trained Tyson early in his career until his victory over Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in 2015.

He had only one fight as a professional (losing in 1988) before serving time in prison for drug-related offenses. As Tyson’s coach, he played a key role in the victory over Klitschko. Peter is a respected trainer who has worked with, among others, with former women’s world champion Savannah Marshall and his son Hughie.


Tommy Fury

Tyson’s half-brother, Tommy (11-0, 4 KO), 26, is the most eminent of his siblings and cousins.

Tommy rose to fame on the reality show Love Island and won the hearts of social media stars Jake Paul and KSI, but he is far from competing for the world title.

Tommy insists he is a solemn professional boxer who now works at cruiserweight after moving up from lightweight heavyweight. He recorded a sixth-round points victory in May, and since defeating Paul by split decision, he has fought only twice in three years.


Roman Fury

Roman (6-0, 3 KO) from Salford is Tyson’s half-brother and Tommy’s full brother.

In early January, Roman defeated Kevin Greenwood in the fourth round of a heavyweight fight. He turned professional in 2022, having no amateur experience. Like Tommy, he has a lot of catching up to do to fight for vital titles.


Phill Fury

Tyson’s cousin was a welterweight who last boxed in 2012, finishing with a 13-3 (2 KO) record. He never fought for a significant title.


Nathan Gorman

Heavyweight Gorman (19-3, 13 KO), Tyson’s second cousin, worked in the Manchester area with Ricky Hatton, a former world junior welterweight and welterweight champion. He is also the great-nephew of Bartley Gorman, the feared bare-knuckle brawler.

“I never saw much of Tyson growing up, but I knew him and I knew he trained at Ricky Hatton’s gym,” Gorman told ESPN in 2019.

“We got to know each other a little better there, and what he was doing in training showed me why, in my eyes, he is the best heavyweight in the world.”

Gorman hasn’t fought in two years. He was stopped by Fabio Wardley (now WBO world champion) in three rounds in November 2011 and a five-round knockout by Daniel Dubois in 2019, both in British title fights.


Hosea Burton

Tyson’s cousin who grew up in the same campground as him as a child. Hosea (28-4, 12 KO), 37, from Manchester, was a skillful boxer who won the British lightweight heavyweight title in 2016 but has not boxed since May 2023.


James Dean Fury

Amateur boxer (10-1), 20, from Manchester, is Tyson’s cousin and boxes at a good level as a super middleweight.


Walter Fury

The Lancaster-based junior middleweight (3-1) and cousin of Tyson, 28, lost his first professional fight in July to journeyman Kristaps Zulgis and has not fought since.


Bartley Gorman

Tyson claims one of his ancestors was the undefeated bare-knuckle fighting champion known as the “Gypsy King,” who died in 2002. He was undefeated for 20 years until 1992.

Since then, legendary stories about Gorman have emerged. “Bartley even sparred with the legend Muhammad Ali,” his great-nephew Nathan Gorman told the BBC. – How crazy is that?


Uriah Burton

Tyson’s uncle was a eminent bare-knuckle fighter. Tyson’s mom, Amber Burton, is Uriah’s niece.

“They said he was an ogre. He had the strength of five men,” wrote Bartley Gorman in his book Bareknuckle Memoirs of the Undefeated Champion.

“He defeated two opponents at once. He stopped at nothing and fought to the death. He sounded like something from the Middle Ages, more myth than man. It was only when I met him that I realized these stories were true.”

Tyson said of Burton to the Irish Times in 2013: “He predicted my future a year before I was born.

“I fight royalty. Uriah is on my father’s side and Bartley Gorman, the other undefeated champion, is on my mother’s side. I have gypsy kings on both sides of the family.”

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Canelo Alvarez discusses his retirement plan

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Canelo Alvarez addresses his retirement plan

Canelo Alvarez talked about how long he could stay in the sport before hanging up his gloves and opting for a decorated career.

The 35-year-old is already destined for a place in the Hall of Fame, as he became a four-division world champion, but he still wants to compete at the highest level.

Since his professional debut in 2005, the Mexican has made 68 appearances and has twice become the undisputed king of the 168-pound division, scoring notable victories over the likes of Callum Smith and Caleb Plant.

However, his most critical victory came in the middleweight division, where Alvarez made a very controversial decision by majority vote in a rematch with Gennady Golovkin in 2018.

More controversial was their first meeting a year earlier, when many felt Golovkin had done enough to claim a convincing victory and the Kazakhstan ended in a draw.

Still, Canelo received plenty of credit for his follow-up triumph before dethroning Sergei Kovalev to capture the WBO featherlight heavyweight title over a year later.

Alvarez’s second undisputed super middleweight reign came to an end last September when Terence Crawford moved up two weight classes and won a unanimous decision.

But Canelo explained anyway Froch About the fight that he can still compete for another two years, maybe even longer, depending on how often his opportunities come along.

“I don’t know. I think maybe two years. I don’t need it, [but] I still enjoy it. If I [fight] maybe once a year [I can go on] a little bit [longer].

“Once a year to rest my body, I think I can fight more [than two years]”

Although an official announcement has not yet been made, Canelo is scheduled to fight in Riyad, Saudi Arabia this September, and Turki Alalshikh has promised to fight for the world title.

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The Inoue-Nakatani title fight will take place on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome

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Boxing’s worst kept secret has now been confirmed – Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KO) and Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KO) will meet on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship.

The all-Japan clash was formally announced at a press conference in Japan. The fight will be broadcast live on Lemino pay-per-view; US distribution rights have not yet been announced.

Inoue – ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer – is coming off an impressive 2025 in which he competed four times, defeating Kim Ye-Joon, Ramon Cardenas, Murodjon Akhmadaliev and David Picasso. Thanks to Inoue’s unanimous decision victory over Picasso in December, Nakatani defeated Sebastian Hernandez in the second fight of the night in a tougher-than-expected fight. Their victories set up a long-awaited clash between two of Japan’s best players.

Nakatani is ranked No. 6 pound-for-pound by ESPN and will look to become a four-division champion after winning world titles at bantamweight, junior bantamweight and flyweight. Although Nakatani narrowly won his junior featherweight debut in a grueling fight against Hernandez, Nakatani proved he was one of the best fighters in the world and had a powerful showing in 2025, winning 3-0.

The Undercard will feature Inoue’s younger brother Takuma defending his WBC bantamweight title against former four-division titleholder Kazuto Ioka.

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Dan Rafael says IBF president opposed Jai Opetaia Presser

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Image: Dan Rafael: IBF President Felt Disrespected By Belt Display At Opetaia Presser

Jai Opetai’s fight against Brandon Glanton is still moving forward, but veteran reporter Dan Rafael says the issue that caused the IBF title to be removed from the fight had to do with how the belt was presented during fight week. Rafael reported that IBF president Daryl Peoples believes that the organization’s title was shown as secondary to Zuffa’s belt during a recent press conference.

This explanation makes the argument about the presentation rather than the match itself. Rafael wrote that Peoples objected to the way the belts were arranged at the press, with Zuffa’s belt posed for the cameras while Opetaia held the IBF title rather than raising it in the usual manner towards the audience.


“The IBF withdrew sanctions and sent the overseer home after the journalist because IBF President Daryl Peoples felt disrespected by the belt being placed secondary to Zuffa’s,” Rafael wrote on social media.

Fight week photos reflect the arrangement Rafael described. At the final press conference on Friday, Zuffa’s belt was centered and Opetaia held the red IBF title at his side. Saturday’s weigh-in had a similar effect. Zuffa’s belt was raised over the fighters on the restart, while Opetaia continued to hold the IBF Championship on his chest. This sequence appears to have irritated the sanctioning authority.

Rafael also reported another unusual detail related to the fight. Even after the IBF dropped its sanctions, Opetai and Glanton were still expected to adhere to IBF weight rules ahead of the morning fight. Rafael said that no competitor can weigh more than ten pounds over the cruiserweight weight limit of 200.

Rafael later noticed that the IBF belt continued to appear in promotion for the event. Opetaia held the title at media events and discussed it publicly, and graphics broadcast by Zuffa covered the championship. Rafael’s account points to the dispute that raged over Zuffa’s title belt relationship during press events.

Opetaia entered fight week as the IBF cruiserweight champion after regaining the belt in a rematch victory over Mairis Briedis in 2024. The Australian continues to wear the physical belt while promoting his fight against Glanton. Once he steps into the ring and takes part in an unsanctioned fight, the IBF Championship will no longer move forward with him.

The fight remains scheduled, and reports from Rafael indicate that the split was due to belt politics and presentations at public events. The episode shows how rigorously sanctioning bodies guard the status of their championships as modern promoters introduce competitive titles.

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