Former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will fight for the first time since losing his undisputed heavyweight title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, whien takes on Russian Arslan Makhmudov Saturday night.
Coming up Saturday night in the U.K., former WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury will make a long awaited return to the ring, as he takes on Russian veteran Arslanbek Makmuhdov at the 68,000 capacity for boxing Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The bout headlines a Ring Magazine card that will be shown globally by Netflix.
The two fighters met the media for the final time on Thursday afternoon and as expected, Fury, a.k.a. "The Gypsy King" carried the promoting with his typical bravado,
"I’m going to lay him unconscious on Saturday night at Tottenham. I’ll be like the game cock on top of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and he’ll be like the knocked‑out man, spark out on the floor on the canvas looking up thinking, “What the f--k just happened there?” But it’s no shame, because like he said, he’s fighting the great Tyson Fury. And not only will I do it to him, I’ll do it to all of them as well, like I’ve done many times in the past before.
Fury, who comes into this fight with a 34-2-1, 24 KOs career mark, had been off for all of last year, while telling the fighting world he was "retired," yet again. But, no one really believed that. And he confessed Thursday,
"When I walk away every time from boxing, I have zero intentions of returning. However, after a few months, I’m 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. I miss the boxing. I miss the press conferences. I miss everything that comes with the big fights."
He was last in the ring in two decision losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, as Usyk became the first four belt undisputed heavyweight champion in some 25 years. But, has obviously to decided to try to climb back into world title contention.
Fury is most known for his upset of former unified champ Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015. He also scored two knockouts in to capture and then, defend, the WBC title over Deontay Wilder in 2020 and 2021. He defended the title twice before Usyk defeated him.
As for the 36 year old Makhmudov, 21-2, 19 KOs, he had a solid 2025 with two wins, including an October decision over Britain's David Allen. Both of his losses were by KO, including to current WBC interim heavyweight champ Agit Kabayel in December 2023.
He said of his role as the "Fury opponent,"
"To be honest, very excited. Really excited to be in this kind of event, in this big show with these big names. I’m very happy and can’t wait for Saturday night... I don’t have nothing pressure because God prepared me for this moment all my life……And I believe this is my time. It’s my hunting. That’s it.
"Tyson Fury is a great boxer. In boxing we have rules – you have to go for count, you have to go for good boxing. This is what I want to do: to box good. This is my goal. What’s going to happen, we don’t know. We’ll know Saturday night."
In the co-feature, British star Conor “The Destroyer" Benn, 24-1, 14 KOs debuts with Turki Alashikh and The Ring, as he will take on former two time world champ, American Regis “Rougarou” Prograis, 30-3, 24 KOs,
Benn comes off a sensational rematch win over Chris Eubank Jr. last November and is looking to get in the title picture, eventually, at welterweight. And, he's heavily favored to defeat Prograis, who is clearly at the end of his career.