By: Sean Crose

And so once again Tyson Fury is returning to the sport of boxing this weekend. The 34-2-1 Englishman is now 37 years of age. On the eve of his fight with the under the radar 21-2 Arslanbek Makhmudov Saturday in London, the 6’9 Fury is entering the ring with numerous question marks hovering about regarding what he has left as a fighter. While it’s true Fury has defied the odds over the course of his career  – he wasn’t supposed to defeat Wladimir Klitschko back in 2015, after all – he’s also gone through a lot of wear and tear. His epic trilogy against Deontay Wilder – and yeah, it was an epic trilogy – for heavyweight dominance consisted of three brutal affairs that concluded in 2021.

And while Fury emerged from the trilogy a clear victor, there was no doubt that, figuratively speaking, the man had gone through hell and back against this archrival. Even Fury himself admitted how explosive Wilder’s shots were. Still, Fury went on to continue with his winning ways after the battles against Wilder, defeating two impressive fellow Brits, Dillian Whyte and Derick Chisora successfully in subsequent bouts. Yet things began to look askew when Fury went on to battle UFC heavyweight legend Francis Ngannou in Ngannou’s first boxing match.

Although Ngannou was clearly a tough customer, no one expected him to drop the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in the third round of his boxing debut. But that’s exactly what the man did. Fury easily beat the coun, but it was no walk in the park for the man. Sure enough, Fury only got by with a split decision nod from the judges, and a controversial one at that. The fact that Anthony Joshua flattened Ngannou in nearly horrifying fashion in Ngannou’s next fight didn’t reflect well on Fury, either. If the Ngannou fight could be chalked up to overconfidence, however, no such assertion could be made when Fury next fought Oleksandr Usyk.

Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world was now gunning to win the undisputed heavyweight championship of the word. He had already won the WBA, IBF and WBO belts. Now all he needed was Fury’s WBC championship strap. And, indeed, he beat Fury in a close contest. Although Fury felt robbed by the judges, Usyk was now the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Around half a year later the two men met again – and the results were the same. That was in December of 2024. Fury hasn’t fought since.

Indeed, Fury retired shortly after the second Usyk fight, but many didn’t believe the retirement would last, even if Fury himself believed it would. For it was the fifth time the guy had resigned from the sport. And, sure enough, the man known as The Gypsy in King announced his return to boxing in January of this year. Three months later, he’s now about to enter the ring again in a bout that will be aired live of Netflix for no extra charge (a good sign for boxing, since many pay per view fights aren’t much more than tuneups themselves these days).

The question now is: How much does Tyson Fury Have left?

It’s worth thinking about. When you throw in those wars with Wilder, the fact that he’s aging, the retirements, the comebacks, the booze and substances that derailed his career years ago, it becomes painfully obvious that Fury has led a hard life. He’s made a ton of money and earned himself a guaranteed trip to the Hall of Fame, but he’s led a hard life. That sort of things takes its toll on a person, as does the fact that Fury has spent over a year out of the ring.

Will hard hitting Russian Makhmudov send Fury into retirement permanently? The man certainly has power, and Fury isn’t impervious to big shots. He’s been on the mat numerous times throughout the course of his career. Still, Fury in his prime was a master fighter, one who could box as well as hit…a hard to beat combination.

How much of that Fury is left though? Again, he’s led quite a life. And boxing really is a young man’s game, even if the combatants are able to keep fighting for longer and longer periods of time these days. All it takes is a slight slippage in skills and a career could be ruined or at least seriously put on hold. And at Fury’s age long spans of time between fights won’t work to his advantage. If he manages to perform well on Saturday, he’s going to want to fight again sooner rather than later if he wants to keep winning.

Even then, though, the air of danger is about. A more active Fury is a Fury who’s more apt to get seriously hurt , after all. Then again, the less active Fury who insists on boxing every so often may have even more of a chance of getting hurt. Again, it’s a young man’s game. Fury knows it as well as anybody, however. Boxing has served the guy quite well after all. He’s now loaded with money and is continuing to bring in more.  Plus he has the name and personality to continuously draw attention to himself.

And sure enough Fury’s now in a position where should he lose on Saturday or look terrible in the process of winning, his reputation won’t be particularly harmed. He’s done excellent work and at this point in his career, few will fault him for losing to a noted underdog. These things happen after all.  It might be interesting to find a study out there showing how many boxers return from retirement and find real success. Outside of George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard, it’s hard to think of one, but who knows?

Although the odds may be against – or slightly against – Fury winning another world title, he still may have big things ahead. If he wins this weekend. People have longed for him to face fellow Englishmen Anthony Joshua for roughly a decade now. That’s a long time to wait for a major fight. Not that the bout is guaranteed to finally happen even if Fury wins. A lot of it frankly depends on what Tyson Fury shows he has left on Saturday.