Tyson Fury makes shock announcement amid Anthony Joshua talks

Boxing star Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from the sport in a new shock statement. The 36-year-old has been tipped to fight fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua this year, but it now looks as though that will not happen following the surprise announcement.

Following defeat to heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in his last fight in December, The Gypsy King revealed his decision in a short video on social media.

"Hi everybody, I'm going to make this short and sweet," he said. "I'd like to announce my retirement from boxing it's been a blast. I've loved every single minute of it, and I'm going to end with this. Dick Turpin wore a mask. See you all on other side."

Of course this is not the first time that Fury has retired from boxing, as he has twice stepped away from the sport. However, both previous retirements have followed victoriesm, firstly after a huge win over Wladimir Klitschko and then after a Wembley Stadium win over Dillian Whyte.

There had been talk in recent weeks of a showdown against Anthony Joshua, with promoter Eddie Hearn revealing that there were dates available. When asked by Sky Sports if he had a Wembley date available - should Fury want to fight Joshua - Hearn said: "Yes. We're looking to get back in the ring in May or June. If it ended up being July, it doesn't really matter.

"I still think it rests on Tyson Fury. Until the water settles on the defeat and where he's at mentally and what he wants to do, that's where we're really going to find out. Because when he looks at the options, what else is he going to do and who else is he going to fight?"

However, those plans now look to be on hold following Fury's latest announcement, unless he can be persuaded to backtrack again.