'It's been a blast' Fury says he is retiring from boxing - again - in 17sec video

Tyson Fury has announced his retirement from boxing, yet again, in a 17-second posting on Instagram which he released just hours before a major press conference in London to publicise the heavily hyped Riyadh bill next month which includes Daniel Dubois's IBF world title defence against Joseph Parker.

- Donald McRae

It could be a typical ploy from Fury to divert attention from other heavyweights but, following two punishing fights against Oleksandr Usyk last year, both of which he lost narrowly, he might have chosen to get out of the brutal fight business with his faculties intact and more money than he can spend in the coming years.

Fury is still aggrieved by the result of his rematch with Usyk last month, as all three judges scored the fight in favour of the Ukrainian by identical margins of 116-112.

"I think he got a Christmas gift from those judges," Fury said of Usyk in the immediate aftermath and, in his retirement statement, he appeared to imply he had been robbed by making a cryptic allusion.

"Hi everybody, I'll make this short and sweet, I'd like to announce my retirement from boxing," Fury said in his brief video yesterday afternoon. "It's been a blast and I've loved every single minute of it. I'm going to end with this, Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, I'll see you on the other side."

Frank Warren, Fury's promoter, admitted to the Guardian that he had not been expecting the announcement. "We have to respect Tyson for all he has done in boxing, and for his decision," Warren said.