Tyson Fury firm on retirement after retaining world title against Dillian Whyte

Tyson Fury was adamant he will retire from boxing after retaining his WBC heavyweight title with a highlight-reel stoppage of Dillian Whyte.

Fury has been insistent for weeks that he would end his career irrespective of the outcome against his British rival at Wembley Stadium, although even those close to him have cast doubt on that position.

If this is to be the end then the 33-year-old bowed out in supreme fashion, dictating the tempo to the joy of a post-war British record crowd of 94,000 before a vicious uppercut scrambled Whyte’s senses.

Whyte courageously beat the count but it was clear he was still on rubbery legs as he stumbled into referee Mark Lyson, who immediately ended proceedings with one second left in the sixth round.

Fury, who extended his unbeaten record to 33 fights with 32 wins and a draw, celebrated by treating the crowd to a rendition of Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’, one of the songs played in his elaborate entrance.

But when asked whether he could be tempted to face the winner of a rematch, pencilled in for the summer between WBA, IBF and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk and domestic foe Anthony Joshua, Fury was unequivocal.

“I’ve spent a lot of time on the road, I’ve been away a long time,” he said. “I’ve fulfilled everything I’ve ever wanted to fulfil.

“I’m going to retire as only the second heavyweight in history, after Rocky Marciano, to retire undefeated.”

Fury won British, Commonwealth and European titles before catapulting himself to the top of boxing’s blue riband division in November 2015, when he ended Wladimir Klitschko’s long reign as world champion.

A crippling battle with depression kept him out the ring for the next two and a half years, and he ballooned to nearly 30 stone in weight,