Arslanbek Makhmudov appeared disinterested in what Tyson Fury had to say on Thursday, as the Russian spent much of their press conference typing on his phone.
Admittedly there is somewhat of a language barrier between the Russian and the Briton, but Makhmudov’s attitude might just have reflected that of viewers as the event failed to spark into life.
Fury will fight Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, as the “Gypsy King” emerges from his fifth retirement from boxing – and competes on home soil for the first time in three-and-a-half years.
It remains to be seen how many tickets have been and will be sold for the bout, which will stream live on Netflix and is sure to deliver solid viewing figures regardless of the stadium attendance. Still, it has been hard to judge the hype around the fight, with many boxing fans raising eyebrows at another Fury comeback.
And Thursday’s press conference in Canary Wharf fell flat overall, with the heavyweights taking to the stage after 7.30pm, 90 minutes after the advertised start time.
The event ended with Makhmudov lifting Fury off the ground in a light-hearted moment, but the Russian had spent much of the press conference on his phone, typing.
Fury simply said of that behaviour, “He’s beat,” while speaking to Netflix’s analysts after the press conference, at which he had insisted: “People always question retirement for me; I’ve retired five times before and wholeheartedly meant it five times.
“After a few months, I’m like bored of the normal life – dropping the kids off at school, taking the dog for a walk, that sort of stuff – and I miss the game.
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“This time, there were a couple of defining moments for me that made that decision for me to come back, and one of them was my longtime rival Anthony Joshua’s crash over in Nigeria. When I heard that news, it was so sad, and I thought to myself: ‘Life is so short.’”
Joshua survived the crash in December, but his teammates Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele were killed in the accident.
“This time, I thought it’s gonna be different again,” continued Fury, “because for the first time in forever I’m the hunter, I’m not the hunted. And we all know that when I’ve been the hunter in the past, I’ve alway f***ed people up.
“I actually feel sorry for Arslanbek Makhmudov. I’m gonna make an example of him. I’ll knock his head right off his two shoulders. I’m gonna lay him unconscious on Saturday night at Tottenham. He’ll be looking up, thinking, ‘What the f*** just happened there?’ But it’s no shame, because he’s fighting the great Tyson Fury.
“They all say my legs are gone, they all say my reactions are gone. Tune in and find out on Saturday night, because I’m telling you they’re not. I’m gonna knock this motherf***** spark out and prove it […] Speedy, skillful, handsome and destructive. I must’ve done 500 rounds of sparring, and I’ve still got it.
“His legs might go before he gets to the ring. It’s a sombre experience if you’ve never been to big-time boxing before. You wake up and you’re in the Atlantic Ocean, and they’re saying, ‘Swim back to England.’ That’s what it feels like.”
Fury’s last bout was a second successive loss to Oleksandr Usyk on points, in December 2024. Makhmudov, 36, last fought in October and outpointed Dave Allen.
Fury, 37, continues to insist that he should have been declared the victor in his bouts with Usyk, while targeting a trilogy bout with the unified heavyweight champion. However, a long-awaited, all-British fight with Joshua continues to stand out as the biggest bout available for Fury and “AJ”.
