Tyson Fury admits he may RETIRE after his crossover clash with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and walk away from undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk

Tyson Fury admits his controversial crossover clash with Francis Ngannou could be his last outing in the squared circle.

The pair square off in a 12-round professional boxing bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 28.

Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, has never boxed before yet he will jump the queue and face arguably the best boxer in the glamour division in two month’s time.

Many fans had hoped to see the WBC title-holder fight unified WBO, WBA (super) and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk in the first undisputed heavyweight contest of the four-belt era.

However, negotiations collapsed for a date in April after the two parties were unable to agree upon the purse split for their rematch.

Tyson Fury returns to the ring on October 28 against Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Ngannou is the former UFC heavyweight champion but will be making his boxing debut on the night

It is expected that Fury and Usyk will renew those discussions once they have dealt with their upcoming foes (the Ukrainian faces WBA mandatory Daniel Dubois on August 26 in Wroclaw, Poland). 

But that won’t be the case if Fury decides to walk away from the sport for good.

‘Age catches up with everybody,’ Fury admitted during an appearance on Heart Radio. ‘And every top-performance athlete at 35 is probably past their best.

‘But I just feel like I’m getting better and more intelligent as I’m getting older. So who knows how long I’ve got left?

‘Maybe not long, maybe a year, maybe two years. Maybe one fight. Who knows?’

Boxing purists are hoping to see Fury and Oleksandr Usyk restart negotiations for the first undisputed heavyweight title fight of the four-belt era after they failed to get the bout over the line for April 

Fury briefly retired after defeating Dillian Whyte in April 2022 only to climb back into the ring later that year against Derek Chisora.

Nine years before that he had claimed he was finished with the sport after his fight with David Haye was cancelled for a second time. 

But again, ‘The Gypsy King’ was pulled back in this time by a Belfast bust-up with Kevin Johnson.

Fury knows all too well how hard it is to let boxing go but insists he won’t overstay his welcome.

‘I think every fighter knows when it’s time to walk away. But they always leave it too long anyway. I’m sure I’ll make the right decision,’ he added.

‘I’ve got a lot to do in my life. I’ve got a lot of kids and I need to be in the right mind.

 ‘I don’t need to be getting injured or whatever because it would’ve all been for nothing – the whole career.’