Tyson Fury’s fifth and perhaps second-longest retirement has ended. Even more, he’s set to face a WBA heavyweight contender in April. The news has been received with some amusement in several quarters. Fury announced his retirement last January following his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk. He insisted at the time that he planned to stay away from the ring.

But given his history of announcing retirement only to return and fight again, few took Tyson Fury seriously. Twelve months later, as he signals another comeback, even that has become fodder for jokes. One of the most amusing reactions came from MMA icon Khabib Nurmagomedov, who suggested that financial pressure might have forced Fury to come out of retirement.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has fun with Tyson Fury’s return to the ring

Ahead of the PFL event in Dubai, where his cousin Usman Nurmagomedov headlines against Alfie Davis, reporters caught up with Khabib and his team. One reporter asked, “Tyson Fury announced he was coming out of retirement today. What’s happening? Are you ever going to come out of retirement and fight again, or are you happy in a leadership role?”

The question made Khabib and his associates laugh. Playing along, however, he joked about how Fury had gone in and out of retirement five times. “Every summer he retires,” he said. Taking a shot, he added that Fury probably ran out of money.

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That scenario, he quipped, would have forced Fury to take a serious look at his finances. The most logical way for Fury to stabilize things, therefore, would have been a return to the ring. Khabib continued the teasing: “I think he spent all his money, and he came back, you know. This is how I feel.”

Jokes aside, like most observers, Khabib acknowledged that Fury was a great champion, and the fact that he is facing a Dagestani – Arslanbek Makhmudov – appeared to please him even more. He added that he would not miss the heavyweight bout scheduled for April 11 in the United Kingdom.

Given the intensity with which Fury announced his retirement last January, reactions from Khabib and others were not surprising.

Fury sets the record straight on his return

After suffering his second straight loss to Usyk, an irritated Fury had publicly announced his retirement as the new year began. In an Instagram video, he said, “Hi everybody, I’ll make this short and sweet. I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing. 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.”

Many wondered how long the fifth retirement would last. Fury’s comeback soon answered that question. Yet contrary to the jabs from Khabib and others, Fury insisted that money played little role in his decision. In financial terms, he said, he could have retired long ago.

The lure of punching “men in the face and getting paid for it” still appealed to him. “I love this fight game. It’s not for financial gain; I could have retired 10 years ago. I’ve made an absolute fortune; it’s not about the money. Although, I always want a good deal, for sure,” he said on Instagram.

Fury was already among the highest-paid boxers in the world, but the enormous purses he earned fighting Usyk on the Riyadh Season cards altered the landscape. As a result, returning strictly for financial reasons seemed unlikely.

Raising the prospect of another massive payday, Fury is likely to face Makhmudov on his first Netflix card. The move has led some to speculate about a future showdown with longtime rival Anthony Joshua, who fought Jake Paul on the platform last December. Still, given what Joshua is dealing with after the tragic car accident that claimed the lives of two of his friends, everything remains speculative.