Monday afternoon, former two time heavyweight champ Tyson Fury met with the media prior to his return facing Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in April.
The "Gypsy King" returned today, albeit in a press conference, as Tyson Fury met with the media ahead of his return to the ring for the first time over a year upcoming in April, when he meets fringe contender, Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov.
The former two time heavyweight champ, Fury, 34-2-1, 24 KOs, was his usual jovial self with the media Monday mid-day in London, as he readies to headline at Tottenham Hotspur Soccer Stadium for April 11th.
Fury, remarked on his latest, alleged retirement over the last year,
“The truth is, I came back for one reason only and that’s to make boxing great again.
“Since I retired, boxing has been on a downward slope. Boxing is better when Tyson Fury’s involved. With me, I brought the biggest streaming platform on Earth in Netflix. I bring a circus, I bring an entourage.
He continued on coming back to the venue, where he TKO'd Derek Chisora to defend his WBC title in 2022,
“I anticipate another sell out and another epic fight here in Britain, it’s unbelievable to be back. I was away for the last four years and to come back to the UK with Netflix it’s a dream come true to come back to Tottenham."
Meanwhile, Makhmudov in his first fight back in the U.K. for nearly four years. The giant Russian, who enters the contest with a 21-2 professional record, including 19 stoppage victories, standing over 6’5 tall.
However, he will still be some 3" shorter than Fury in this one. He remarked Monday to the press assembled,
‘“For me it’s a dream fight. All my life, I have gone for my goal that my parents told me, to be champion of the world. I’m looking forward to April 11th to reach my goal. Tyson is a legend, a big name in boxing but I have come here to make my legacy and my story.”
The 37-year-old Fury has been out of action since suffering a second consecutive decision loss to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in their December 2024 rematch in Saudi Arabia. Despite that setback, Fury remains best known for his commanding victories over former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, whom he stopped by knockout in February 2020 and again in October 2021, with both fights taking place in Las Vegas.
For his part Makhmudov, he's off a solid decision win over David Allen in Britain last October, but isn't regarded as a big threat to Fury.
One positive for fight fans is that promoter Turki Alashikh and The Ring have done a deal to stream the bout on Netflix for the consumer subscription price and not pay per view.
And, Fury hopes to get back in the title picture for at least a portion of the titles with an impressive showing.