Tyson Fury officially vacates Ring Magazine heavyweight title as he gives strongest signal yet that retirement could be genuine, opening door for Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua rematch to have belt on the line

Tyson Fury has now officially vacated his Ring Magazine heavyweight title, giving the strongest indication yet that his retirement could be genuine.

As things stand, the Gypsy King is yet to vacate his WBC heavyweight world title though - and most would still argue that his retirement is not truly confirmed until he does so.

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Fury's retirement saga has dragged on since the first press conference before his fight with Dillian Whyte earlier this year, when he unexpectedly dropped the bombshell on a group of reporters.

Few believed him at the time and many still doubt him now, despite the fact he has reiterated his claim several times since.

Earlier this week, Fury announced that he was planning a comeback to face Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout.

However, negotiations stalled and on Friday - Fury's 34th birthday - he once again said he was quitting the sport for good.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman revealed that he spoke to Fury on Friday who insisted he is genuinely retiring, however Sulaiman opted not to clarify whether or not the WBC belt is being vacated.

Now, on Saturday morning, Ring Magazine have confirmed that Fury has vacated their title.

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“The Ring Magazine championship has always been the holy grail of boxing," Fury told .

"They’ve been fantastic with me and I’ve always carried that title with pride.”

It must be noted that the Ring belt is recognised by many as being more like a highly prestigious trophy which is added on to the best fights in boxing, rather than a world title in its own right.

This is why many will argue that while Fury still holds his WBC crown, he is not truly retired.

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His decision to drop the Ring title opened up the possibility for the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua rematch next Saturday, live on talkSPORT, to now take place with the belt at stake.

This was confirmed by Ring later on Saturday.

Hypothetically, if Fury were to return and face the winner, it would give him the opportunity to become only the second man after Muhammad Ali to win it three times.

Asked how he wants to be remembered, Fury replied: “To be honest with you, and I’ve always said, I don’t really give a f*** about what people think of me

“I don’t care how they remember me. Being remembered means you’re not active [as a person] anymore, you’re finished, and that’s it.”

Usyk vs Joshua 2 on talkSPORT

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