Feb 22, 2020; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Tyson Fury celebrates after defeating Deontay Wilder in their WBC heavyweight title bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Fury won via seventh round TKO. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

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Turki Alalshikh Reveals Tyson Fury’s 2026 Comeback Plans!

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury ready to come out of retirement in 2026, according to Turki Alalshikh!

Boxing retirements often last about as long as a New Year’s diet resolution. The heavyweight division has seen this dance before. Fighters hanging up their gloves only to lace them up again when the right opportunity knocks. The allure of one more big payday, another shot at glory, or simply the inability to walk away from the only life they have known keeps drawing fighters back to the ring.

Tyson Fury seemed different when he announced his retirement in January 2025. The 36-year-old ‘Gypsy King’ had just suffered back to back losses to Oleksandr Usyk, losing his heavyweight titles in the process. After years of mental health struggles and a rollercoaster career that included his own previous retirement and comeback, many thought Fury might finally be ready to call it quits for good. His battles with depression and addiction had been well-documented, and he would often spoken about wanting to spend more time with his family. But apparently, the boxing world hasn’t seen the last of the charismatic Brit.

Turki Alalshikh Reveals Tyson Fury’s Return Timeline

Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s boxing power broker, just threw a massive curveball into the heavyweight division. The chairman of Saudi Arabia’s general entertainment authority took to social media platform X with a confident declaration that sent shockwaves through the boxing community.

“The ‘Gypsy King’ will be back. I talked with him, and I have his word to have him in Riyadh season in 2026. We have a rabbit to hunt.”

‼️ Tyson Fury is set to come out of retirement and return to boxing in 2026, Turki Alalshikh has confirmed.

Alalshikh said: "I talked with him, and I have his word to have him in Riyadh Season in 2026. We have a rabbit to hunt." pic.twitter.com/bnKABwM6nz
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) July 2, 2025

The “rabbit” reference wasn’t random trash talk. It was Fury’s favorite nickname for Usyk during their heated rivalry. Those two fights in Riyadh had everything: drama, skill, and controversy. Fury lost both encounters, first by split decision in May 2024, then by unanimous decision in December. The Ukrainian became the first undisputed four-belt heavyweight champion in decades, but Fury clearly wasn’t satisfied with how things ended. Alalshikh’s influence in modern boxing cannot be overstated. He’s transformed Saudi Arabia into a boxing destination, bringing marquee fights to Riyadh with oil money and ambitious vision.

The Saudi location however was something that fans believed Fury would not consider. The former heavyweight champion believes he didn’t get fair treatment in their Saudi encounters. He had recently stated that he would only fight in England if he came out of retirement. Now, it remains to be seen whether the allure of revenge and a massive payday might sway Fury on the location of this proposed fight.

(Image Credit: Joe Camporeale – Imagn Images)

Turki Alalshikh

Tyson Fury

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!