Fighters return for different reasons. Could be financial. Could be a desire to be back in the limelight. Could be bored at home. For Tyson Fury , it was something different.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) made it official at a Monday press conference that he'll be returning to the ring on Saturday, April 11, against Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
The former WBC and lineal heavyweight champion claims part of the reasoning behind his in-ring return from a 16-month hiatus was due to a tragedy involving his British rival, Anthony Joshua .
"A tragedy that happened with Anthony Joshua, I was on holiday with my family in Thailand for Christmas," Fury said.
"Then I hear all this bad news going on. And I thought, 'You know what: Life is very, very short, very precious, and very fragile. Anything can happen at any given moment. And you should never put things off until tomorrow, next year, or next week. Because tomorrow is not promised to nobody'.
"The Bible says tomorrow is not a gift, tomorrow is not promised, tomorrow is a mystery. You have to live for today. Me living for that day made my mind up there and then that I'm going to come back to boxing because it's something I love and am passionate about and that I've always been in love with.
Joshua was in the car that killed close friends Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Ayodele on December 29 in Nigeria. He's still recovering from unknown injuries suffered in the accident, but the 36-year-old is back in the gym getting back into shape.
His promoter, Matchroom's Eddie Hearn, is confident he will "when the time is right".
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