Many fans had hoped that Tyson Fury was preparing to announce his comeback to the ring, after teasing a return on Monday.
Fury announced his retirement from boxing in January following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
The 36-year-old, an avid Manchester United supporter, posted a video on social media on Monday afternoon walking through the tunnel at Old Trafford with a cryptic caption which read: “Did you miss me?”
However, there was no retirement U-turn, after it was confirmed on Tuesday that ‘The Gypsy King’ would co-manage England during Soccer Aid – a charity football match raising money for Unicef – on June 15 alongside former England captain, Wayne Rooney.
Fury is no stranger to stadium events having fought at both Wembley Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the latter which staged his trilogy bout with Derek Chisora in December 2022 and some thought he was about to announce a fourth fight with the Londoner.
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One fan wrote: “And there’s us thinking it was Tyson v Chisora 4 😢.”
The Morecambe man ended hopes of a long-awaited, all-British battle with Anthony Joshua, when he called time on his career in January.
Fury posted a video on social media just a few weeks after losing to Usyk by unanimous decision in their rematch, six months after being edged out by split decision to the Ukrainian.
“Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” Fury said on Instagram.
“I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing.
“It’s been a blast.
“I’ve loved every single minute of it.
“I’m going to end with this, Dick Turpin wore a mask.
“God bless everybody, see you on the other side.”
Some fans were hopeful that a showdown with Joshua would finally materialise and appeared to vent their frustrations.
“I was waiting Antony Joshua vs Tyson Fury 😂,” one fan wrote.
Another said: “We all want that last massive hype fight .fury Vs aj 100 k people packed in wembley.”
Others though are eagerly-anticipating Fury’s role as a manager in the charity game which will take place at Old Trafford.
One fan commented: “I’d love to hear his team talks 🤣🤣.”
Last year’s game raised over £15m for charity and featured appearances from both Eddie Hearn and Tony Bellew.
