Tyson Fury marked his return to the ring with a convincing victory over Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov.
At London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium he often toyed with his overmatched opponent, and after 16 months of inactivity and his first defeats showed that he retains the abilities to remain the second finest heavyweight in the world.
At the conclusion of 12 largely one-sided rounds he was awarded a unanimous decision via scores of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109.
He may never earn the third fight he craves with Oleksandr Usyk and cannot argue that he is his most deserving challenger, but he will be the favourite if he finally fights Anthony Joshua – a fight that may never happen if it doesn’t take place in 2026.
Saturday’s fight was Fury’s first since his successive defeats by Usyk, the second of which came in December 2024. He had often insisted that he was retired but his comeback was ultimately inevitable, and while he eased to victory over the 36-year-old Makhmudov it was tempting to conclude that he would have stopped him had he remained at his peak.
The fight with Makhmudov was also Fury’s first since the death of his friend and former assistant trainer Ricky Hatton. To that end he paid tribute to him while he made his ring walk and cut an emotional figure – but shortly after the opening bell he appeared to rediscover the sense of joy he gets from being in the ring.
Makhmudov had been chosen as his opponent on account of the profile of his victory in October over Fury’s popular fellow Englishman David Allen. He represented a durable but limited opponent and therefore suitable for Fury to shed the rust he had developed – and perhaps even to rebuild his confidence after two-and-a-half years since his most recent win.
The Russian, as he had been expected to, started with aggression and by trying to land his right hand. He often over-reached while charging forward and Fury calmly sought to counter and jab him; he again reached with a right but Fury then tied him up.
A left-right combination and then left uppercut in the second round showed Fury’s edge in speed and sharpness. A further left-right and then a counter left-right after Makhmudov’s right hand fell short then demonstrated that the one-dimensional Makhmudov was already at risk of running out of ideas.
Fury continued to lead with his jab in the third in which he also adopted a southpaw stance and appeared to be enjoying himself. He succeeded with a left hook from close range, then lefts to the head and body and then a left-right.
Makhmudov caught him with a right hand in the fourth but achieved little beyond wasting his energy when he continued to wildly swing and continued to miss his target. Fury continued to prioritise his jab and to succeed with his left-right combination; Makhmudov’s punch resistance remained firm.
It will perhaps have been a relief to the teams of both fighters that their fight required relatively little officiating. The referee was none other than Mark Bates, so heavily criticised for his contributions to Deontay Wilder-Derek Chisora the previous week.
Makhmudov twice more fell short with right hands in the fifth round, and in the sixth was punished by Fury patiently again prioritising his jab and showboating via his facial expressions.
Successive right hands from the Russian in the seventh were followed by a left-right to the body from Fury and a return to his authoritative jab; Makhmudov missed with a further right hand and was again punished with successive jabs.
A well-timed, counter left hook to the chin caught the eye and hurt Makhmudov in the eighth round. A right uppercut then followed, and hurt Makhmudov once again.
With greater urgency it remains possible that Fury could have succeeded in recording his 25th stoppage, but he may well instead have been prioritising the activity. A left uppercut was followed by him letting his hands go in the 11th, when he also turned Makhmudov into a corner and started freely throwing again.
A stoppage, thereafter, never appeared likely to follow. A right uppercut from in close then helped him see out the final round, which he finished with his hands almost behind his back and using his head and body movement to stay away from harm.
Pre-fight, Turki Alalshikh had teased that the overdue date between Fury and Joshua is imminent.
At 37 – a year older than Joshua – time is perhaps finally running out for Fury to fight his long-term rival. He and Joshua again exchanged words, post-fight, but they and almost everyone else has already been there before, making their meeting both tiring and familiar. But if they don’t finally agree terms to fight each other, is there even any point in Fury being back?
