Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua's car crash inspired his return to the ring
Tyson Fury has revealed his return to the boxing ring was sparked by the deaths of two of Anthony Joshua's friends who were killed in a car crash.
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Former two-time heavyweight champion Fury had been in retirement since the end of 2024 after suffering his second successive loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
But the 37-year-old announced his comeback at the beginning of January, one week after Joshua was involved in a car crash in Nigeria which killed his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Ayodele.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of his April 11 fight with Russian-born Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Fury said: "Tomorrow might not ever come and I suppose the biggest turning point in this comeback for me was the tragedy that happened with Anthony Joshua."
Recalling the moment he learned of the news, he said: "I was on holiday with my family in Thailand for Christmas just to get away from the rain.
"I was sick of the rain, it was depressing me and then I hear all about the bad news that’s gone on and I thought you know what, life is very, very short and very precious and very fragile and anything can happen at any given moment.
"You should never put things off until tomorrow, or next year, or next week because tomorrow is not promised to nobody.
"The Bible says tomorrow is not a gift, tomorrow ain’t promised, tomorrow is a mystery so we have to live for today.
"Me living for that day, I made my mind up there and then I was going to come back to boxing because it’s something I love, I am passionate about and I have always been in love with.
"There is no tomorrow so that’s why I am back today."
Joshua opened up about the deaths of his strength coach Ghami and personal trainer Ayodele in a video address last month, where he fought back tears as he spoke to the camera for his YouTube channel where he spoke of the "tragic, traumatic time."
The pair were killed in Lagos after the vehicle they were travelling in crashed into a stationary truck on a highway on December 29.
Joshua was hospitalised after suffering minor injuries before being released two days later.
The 36-year-old thanked fans for their messages of support and said: "The last time I spoke to you guys was in Miami, we had so many plans to wrap up 2025. We went home, to see our families and everything go flipped on it's head.
"That was such an unforeseen circumstance that was out of all of our control, and not only did their parents, their uncles, their cousins, their friends and myself, lose two great men.
"We lost people that we really care about have been major players in all of our lives, major, major players in all of our lives. It's tough. It's really tough."
Rumours had been circulating that a fight between Fury and Joshua would finally take place in 2026, but any plans have since been put on hold.
Fury’s father John initially stole the show at Monday's press conference after he launched an expletive-laden rant at pundit Carl Froch.
It started with both Fury’s manager Spencer Brown and Queensberry promoter Frank Warren stating their belief that Fury will become world heavyweight champion for a third time.
Yet, Fury insisted: “The truth of the matter is I came back for one reason only and that’s to make boxing great again.
"Since I’ve retired for the fifth time over a year ago, boxing for me has gone on a downward slope and it’s become quite boring.
"Boxing is at its maximum potential when Tyson Fury is actively fighting. I didn’t say that, AI, the cleverest thing on earth said that, ChatGPT, so believe it! I am coming back to make boxing great again."