Tyson Fury will never fight again because pulling out of his Wladimir Klitschko rematch again will lead to a long, frustrating legal battle, says Eddie Hearn
British promoter believes the world heavyweight champ will be stripped of titles and decide he's had enough of the hassle
TYSON FURY will never fight again because he will be stripped of his world heavyweight titles and get fed up with a long legal fight.
That is the claim of British promoter Eddie Hearn after Fury withdrew for the second time from a rematch with Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko.
Englishman Fury, 28, beat the Ukrainian last November before missing the first re-fight though an ankle injury and pulling out of the upcoming bout on October 29 apparently due to mental health issues.
: "Fury will be stripped of his titles and, after a legal battle, he'll say: 'No more, I'm done
"It's going to be really messy and it might take a year to resolve. I know there are sensitivities around mental health issues but this is a business.
"The governing bodies have had enough. The world heavyweight title is a huge part of their business and they've not made any money from it for a year."
Fury is also at the centre of claims he refused to give a sample for a drug test - a claim that, if true, could lead to a ban of up to four years..
He won the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles by inflicting Klitschko's first defeat since 2004.
But two weeks later he had the IBF crown taken away as he was unable to fight mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov.
Fellow Brit Anthony Joshua is now the IBF champ.
And his team hoped he could step in to face Klitschko next month.
But Hearn is predicting legal wrangles from Fury's team that will halt or delay Joshua's plans for a shot at the 40-year-old.
The promoter says he sympathises with Fury's health issues but also feels the champ has been let down by his own team.
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He said: "How can you unify the heavyweight division by beating Wladimir Klitschko in Germany and mess it up so badly?
"You couldn't make it up and the people who guide him have to be held responsible for what has happened.
"Peter Fury and [promoter] Mick Hennessy needed to get hold of him, give him a slap and say: 'Pull yourself together, you're the heavyweight champion of the world, you're going to make millions in the biggest fights in world boxing. Isn't this what you've always wanted?'
"I wanted Fury to fight Klitschko, because we wanted Joshua to fight Fury. A heavyweight world title unification between two Brits is gold dust.
"But everyone in boxing knew that the fight between Fury and Klitschko wouldn't happen and I don't think Fury will fight again.
"Some people can't deal with being in the spotlight and maybe he thinks he'll never get that feeling again that he got from winning the world title."