After yet another retirement and return, Tyson Fury insists this time is different. No ‘flash in the pan.’ No fleeting comeback. Instead, a deliberate final chapter: three fights, three statements, and, if he has his way, a legacy reasserted.
The first step comes against Arslanbek Makhmudov. But beyond Saturday night lies a far more intriguing roadmap – one that could finally settle heavyweight boxing’s most persistent unresolved business.
For all the chaos that has followed Fury throughout his career, this plan feels unusually clear. One dangerous return, one long-overdue domestic super fight, and one final attempt to rewrite history against the man who has twice beaten him.
It is a sequence built as much on legacy as it is on logic. Fury is no longer chasing belts or validation in the traditional sense. He is chasing narrative, control, and closure on rivalries that have lingered for years.
There is also, unmistakably, a commercial reality underpinning it all. Having operated in the era of mega-deals – from Saudi-backed events to global streaming platforms such as Netflix – Fury’s return is not built for routine paydays.
Any fight that follows will need to carry the weight of spectacle and scale, the kind that commands purses deep into eight figures and beyond, matching the nine-figure territory he has grown accustomed to.
Whether he sees it through is another question entirely. But if Fury delivers on his word, the next three fights will not just shape the end of his career, they could define how it is remembered.
After yet another retirement and return, Tyson Fury (above) insists this time is different
Fury’s immediate focus is Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs), a dangerous puncher but, in Fury’s mind, the perfect foil for his rebirth
Fight One: Arslanbek Makhmudov – The hunter returns
Fury’s immediate focus is Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs), a dangerous puncher but, in Fury’s mind, the perfect foil for his rebirth.
After 16 months away, Fury has framed this comeback not as a cautious re-entry, but as a violent reassertion.
At Thursday’s press conference, he leaned heavily into a narrative that has defined his best years, that of the hunter, not the hunted.
He said: ‘For the first time in forever, I’m the hunter… and when I’ve been the hunter in the past, I’ve always messed people up.’
The pair will go toe-to-toe at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening.
Fight Two: AJ – The fight 10 years in the making
If Fury gets past Makhmudov, the next chapter almost writes itself: Anthony Joshua.
Few fights in modern boxing have been so relentlessly discussed yet so stubbornly unrealised. For the best part of a decade, Fury vs Joshua has hovered on the brink – negotiated, announced, collapsed, revived, and abandoned again.
At various points, contracts were drafted and dates floated. In 2021, the fight came closest before arbitration forced Fury into a third bout with Deontay Wilder. In 2022, Fury publicly offered Joshua a short-notice deal after Joshua’s second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk but talks again fell apart.
If Fury gets past Makhmudov, the next chapter almost writes itself: Anthony Joshua (above)
The obstacles have been complex and persistent: fractured promotional alliances and competing broadcast interests, ill-timed setbacks and rebuilding phases after defeats, and negotiations repeatedly derailed in public, with terms debated as much in the media as behind closed doors.
Anthony Joshua’s career trajectory has only added further layers to the uncertainty. His back-to-back defeats to Usyk forced a period of reflection and rebuilding – not just technically in the ring, but mentally, as he sought to rediscover the authority and clarity that once defined his rise.
More recently, concerns around his wellbeing following a car accident have understandably shifted the focus away from timelines and toward recovery, both physical and emotional.
However, momentum is quietly building again. It is understood that preliminary contracts for a Fury showdown have once more been discussed, with locations tentatively explored – including the unlikely suggestion of Dublin – though the scale and significance of an all-British clash would almost certainly demand a home setting in England.
In the interim, Joshua is expected to take a high-profile tune-up, with Deontay Wilder emerging as a leading option – particularly after Wilder’s diminished showing against Derek Chisora suggested he may no longer be the destructive force of old. It is, on paper, a winnable but still meaningful fight for Joshua.
Fight Three: Oleksandr Usyk – Unfinished business
The final act, in Fury’s mind, must involve Oleksandr Usyk.
Their rivalry has already defined a generation. In two fights, Usyk emerged victorious both times – outboxing, outthinking, and ultimately outlasting Fury. Yet Fury has never accepted those defeats in spirit.
Privately and publicly, he maintains he won – or at the very least, did enough not to lose. That belief is central to why he cannot walk away.
For a fighter as driven by narrative as Fury, legacy is not just about records – it is about perception. And in his mind, there is an imbalance that must be corrected.
The final act, in Fury’s mind, must involve Oleksandr Usyk and a chance for redemption
Their rivalry has already defined a generation. In two fights, Usyk emerged victorious both times. Yet Fury has never accepted those defeats in spirit
The first fight saw Usyk’s movement and precision disrupt Fury’s rhythm. The second reinforced that pattern, with Usyk once again proving the more disciplined and tactically consistent fighter. Fury had moments, flashes of dominance, but not sustained control.
Yet the rivalry remains as raw as ever. When the prospect of a third fight was put to Fury during fight week, his response was characteristically blunt: ‘f*** Usyk’. A reminder that, beneath the business and legacy talk, there is still genuine edge between the two.
And the feeling is not one-sided. In The Daily Mail’s exclusive interview in Ukraine, Usyk made it clear he still wants the Fury fight – not only as a competitive challenge, but as the defining bout of this era and a major commercial draw on the global stage.
Fight Four: Paris – The one opponent he can’t outbox
For all the talk of three fights, three opponents, and one last charge at the top, Fury may have a fourth contest on his hands and it’s the only one he can’t bulldoze, outbox or talk his way through.
Because beyond Makhmudov, beyond Joshua, and even beyond Usyk, stands Paris Fury and the small matter of convincing her these last three fights are a good idea.
Paris, by Fury’s own admission, has been ready for him to hang up the gloves for years. And when he broke the news that he was coming out of retirement again, the response was less ringside roar, more silent treatment, with Fury revealing she didn’t speak to him for days.
Paris, by Fury’s own admission, has been ready for him to hang up the gloves for years
Then there’s the small detail of a 16-week training camp. While Fury has been sharpening up for another run at heavyweight glory, he’s also been very much absent from family life – swapping school runs and dog walks for sparring sessions and press conferences.
It all adds up to perhaps the most delicate balancing act of his career. Because while Fury can map out Makhmudov, Joshua and Usyk down to the last detail, keeping Paris happy might prove the trickiest negotiation of them all.
Other Possibilities – Dangerous detours
Back to boxing…
Even with a three-fight plan, the heavyweight division rarely follows a script.
One potential wildcard is the winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois. Wardley, in particular, has already exchanged words publicly with Fury, teasing a future clash.
It is a fight that carries domestic intrigue, but also risk. Wardley’s rise, unpredictability and well-know equaliser make him a dangerous opponent for a returning Fury.
Another name high in the rankings is Agit Kabayel. Unbeaten, disciplined, and physically imposing, Kabayel represents the kind of high-risk, low-reward opponent fighters often avoid.
Notably absent from Tyson Fury’s calculations is Moses Itauma. The unbeaten youngster may represent the division’s future, but he is one risk Fury has shown no appetite to entertain.
When asked about the possibility, Fury dismissed it with characteristic bluntness, insisting he is ‘not mad’ – a remark that underlines both the danger Itauma poses and the lack of incentive in facing a fast-rising, high-risk opponent with little to gain at this stage of his career.
