Tyson Fury has explained why Arslanbek Makhmudov is the right opponent for his comeback, as the “Gypsy King” emerges from retirement for the fifth time.
On 11 April, Fury will box Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as the Briton enters the ring for the first time since December 2024.
On that occasion, he was outpointed by Oleksandr Usyk for the second time in eight months, and he will bid to bounce back against Russia’s Makhmudov – 15 months after announcing his fifth retirement.
Ahead of his clash with Makhmudov, Fury spoke to The Independent and other publications in Tottenham, going into heavy detail about his upcoming opponent.
“I wouldn’t like to get in a wrestling match with the f***er,” said Fury, 37, referring to an occasion when Makhmudov, 36, wrestled a bear.
“I met him in 2017 at the Billy Joe Saunders fight with David Lemieux. I met him there, he was just a whipper-snapper then – just a kid coming up, dreaming of fighting the heavyweight champion of the world. Now he has the opportunity of making dreams come true, making him very rich. Now he can go and do all the things he wants to do in his life.
“One hundred per cent, it’s destiny. Listen, everything has a plan in life, and he was always destined to get this shot and change his life and become very wealthy and be in a good position with himself.
“I thought he’s a good opponent, he’s a dangerous opponent. If they’d have said I was going to fight some random person no one’s heard of, then that wouldn’t have turned me on, so I wouldn’t have even been interested. But considering I’ve got a No 5-ranked WBA heavyweight, who’s known to the British public because he just had a good fight with Dave Allen… and he wrestles bears for fun, and he’s as big as me, and as ugly as me, and the fact that he’s got 21 knockouts out of 22 fights, [it] makes him a very worthy adversary.
“It makes me want to train good and want to have a good camp, because if I don’t, then I could be one of those 16 first-round knockouts that he’s got, and a highlight-reel meme on his career. And I don’t want that, so I have to respect the fact that he’s a top boxer, he’s had over 100 amateur fights for Russia, and he’s a very experienced fighter.”
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Still, Fury said: “What do I do? Do what I always do. Box his head right off him.”
Makhmudov will enter the contest on the back of a points win over Allen in October. The Russian, 36, has a pro record of 21-2 (19 KOs), having lost to Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello since 2023. Meanwhile, Fury’s record stands at 34-2-1 (24 KOs). He is a former two-time world heavyweight champion.
