Tyson Fury 'will never fight again', claims promoter Eddie Hearn - but is he right?

Fury pulled out of his rematch against Wladimir Klitschko at the weekend, having been ruled "medically unfit" to take part in the bout.

The boxer's uncle and trainer Peter Fury has subsequently stepped in to complain about the fighter's treatment, saying that it is a "witch hunt" against the Anglo-Irish boxer.

And Hearn, son of sports impresario Barry Hearn, told the BBC that he is convinced that Fury will be stripped of his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles having failed to defend them inside a year.

Hearn added that should that happen, Fury will never step into the ring again.

"Fury will be stripped of his titles and, after a legal battle, he'll say: 'No more, I'm done'," said Hearn, who does not promote Fury, but who does look after the interests of Britain's other elite heavyweight, Anthony Joshua.

"Everyone in boxing knew that the fight between Fury and Klitschko wouldn't happen and I don't think Fury will fight again...

"It's going to be really messy and it might take a year to resolve. I know there are sensitivities around mental health issues but this is a business.

"The governing bodies have had enough. The world heavyweight title is a huge part of their business and they've not made any money from it for a year...

"If they [Fury's representative] just say, 'he needs time away from the sport', they're bang in trouble.

"The governing bodies will ask: 'When will he be ready to fight?' And his doctor won't be able to tell them.

"Once they hear that, they'll make him champion in recess and say: 'Once you're fit, we'll give you another chance.'"

Hearn went on to claim that Klitschko's representatives were keen for Joshua to step in to take Fury's place in the October 29 bout.

"I spoke to Bernd Boente [Klitschko's manager] for half-an-hour on Saturday and the conversation was great, we all fancy the fight," said Hearn.

"It does feel a little bit early - Joshua has only had 17 professional fights and Klitschko's experience worries me. But he looked awful against Fury. I think he's done...

"I think the WBA and WBO would sanction the fight and the deal would be easy to do. But Fury's legal battle to keep the belts will take too much time."

It's hard to say. On the one hand, boxing promoters are notorious for spouting absolute nonsense if they think that there's any chance at all that it will further their interests.

And make no mistake: Fury bowing out of boxing is in Hearn's interests, since his fighter Joshua is clearly the next British fighter in line for a chance to dominate boxing's top division. He went on to mention an all-British unification clash between Fury and Joshua, but what he really needs is Joshua to move on and crack America.

Having said that, however, a lot of what Hearn said makes sense. Boxing organisations tend to be all too happy to strip fighters of belts without too much provocation, and Fury's repeated PR gaffes - if you can call sexism and homophobia 'gaffes' - have hardly done much to boost the prestige of the sport.

Whether he would really walk away having made it to the top of the sport? That seems highly unlikely. For all his bluster Fury is talented, and has worked hard for years to get himself into this position. The idea that he'd leave the sport without at least one more big fight seems fanciful.

One thing is certain, though: as Hearn pointed out, Fury's representatives have done a lousy job of protecting their man and looking after his interests.

"How can you unify the heavyweight division by beating Wladimir Klitschko in Germany and mess it up so badly?" said Hearn.

"You couldn't make it up and the people who guide him have to be held responsible for what has happened."