Tyson Fury warned he could end up like Muhammad Ali if he returns to boxing

Legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas believes Tyson Fury made the right call to retire, but warns he could end up like Muhammad Ali should he reverse his decision.

Last week, the two-time heavyweight world champion shocked the boxing world after he confirmed his decision to walk away from the sport for good. The announcement came just weeks after his second defeat in a row by Oleksandr Usyk.

The Brit made the announcement in a short video which he posted on social media. "Hi everybody, I'm going to make this short and sweet," he said to the camera. "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. Get up!"

Fury, 36, has been heavily tipped to fight fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua this year, but it appears that bout is no longer on the cards. While many were left frustrated by his decision, Atlas insists the 'Gypsy King' made the right call. In an interview with CanadaCasino.Ca, he said: “I think it's time for him to walk away. I love to see a movie end in a good way. My wife gets nuts, she will not watch a movie with me because she says, ‘as soon as it gets to that bad part you don't like the way it's going to end, you turn it off’. Yeah, I do. I turn it off. I don't want to see it, so I would like to see him walk away.

"He's made enormous amounts of money. God bless him. He could take care of his family for who knows how many lifetimes and he earned it. I'd like to see him walk off into the sunset before the sun crashes down, before it gets all dark. I'd like to see him actually on his own, in the right way, walk off into that movie sunset, I don't want to see another Muhammad Ali, the great Muhammad Ali stay too long.”

Ali, a three-time former world champion, is widely considered among the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport and sadly passed away in 2016. He had suffered for 35 years with Parkinson’s disease, having been diagnosed three years after his retirement in 1981.

And 68-year-old Atlas believes Fury fears retirement, but is hoping that the British star can find his way without boxing. “Yes [Tyson Fury fears retirement] because I think boxing stabilises his life. I have a lot of respect for Tyson Fury. I think he's a tremendous fighter and I think he's a great symbol,” he continued.

“I do think he's afraid [to retire], because I think that having this in his life, having boxing, the structure of boxing, the discipline, the people around him in camp, is a reason to get up every day and be strong. He's smart, he's not dumb. He's very smart. I think he realises that it’s important in his life, but at some point, he has to learn to live life without the help of boxing.

“It's kind of like you stop doing drugs or you stop drinking. Whatever it is. You have a sponsor, you have somebody that's with you, and he goes to the meetings with you, and he meets you every day when you feel like you're getting a little weak. He's there for you, that person. But someday he can't be there. There has to come a day where it’s just you. And that day is here. He realised, he's smart, he can't box forever. And I think he's worried about losing that guy. That guy not being there with him to say ‘you can be strong’ and ‘you got to be strong, buddy’. I think he's concerned about that, and I don't blame him, and I pray for him. I pray for him that he can find his way without boxing.”