Boxing
'Rumours do not help us!' - Turki Alalshikh weighs in on Tyson Fury retirement amid Anthony Joshua talk
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His Excellency Turki Alalshikh admits rumours about prospective bouts and paydays do not help make fights, while opening the door to a retirement u-turn from Tyson Fury.
The Gypsy King, a regular on Riyadh Season fight cards, had been expected to follow his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk with a long-awaited super-bout against Anthony Joshua.
Instead, Fury hung up his gloves on Monday, though many speculated it could be a move designed as a bargaining chip given it is not the first time he has quit only to return.
Speaking on Thursday, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh acknowledged he would discuss matters with Fury, but also noted chatter over plus-sized purses do not help secure deals.
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"I don't like [his retrirement] as a fan of boxing, because you want to see Tyson more and more in big fights," he told talkSPORT. "But I can understand his situation.
"You don't know, this kind of decision can be changed [in] time. I will support him, I will discuss with him, but I will leave him now. Time to be with his family and then we can discuss.
"But there are a lot of rumours [that] do not help us. [It] makes us look like fools. No-one will propose $500 million to do any fight. This is not a correct number."
The rise of the Riyadh Season era has seen several boxers snap up some of the biggest paydays of the twenty-first century, ushering in a new generation of super-cards.
Discussions over prospective purses have become common speculation among fans and media however, with any delayed fight often subject to scrutiny over rumoured finances.
