ALL EYES ON AJ AS FURY PROVES JUST TOO GOOD FOR MAKHMUDOV
For most fighters, 16 months out of the ring could be detrimental to their career. Not for Tyson Fury, though.
The former unified world champion returned to the ring on Saturday night with a dominant display over the dangerous Russian, Arslanbek Makhmudov, in front of 64,500 people at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With 13 first-round stoppage wins on the Russian’s résumé, the fight started pretty much how many predicted, with Makhmudov looking to land heavy with every shot and Fury downloading the data.
With the rust seemingly gone after his first three minutes of professional boxing since 2024, Fury started to assert his dominance in the fight.
Makhmudov was reckless. He was falling in with shots, and Fury was using every bit of that seven-inch reach advantage to outbox him and, without being disrespectful, outbox him with ease.
That was how it ultimately went for the majority of the fight.
Fury did what he does best, boxing nicely off the back foot. His hand speed and footwork were far too much for Makhmudov who, despite gassing in the past, kept up a fairly good pace throughout the fight, but it was never going to be enough to pose a real threat to Fury.
There were times during the latter rounds that Fury went on the front foot and probably could have pushed for a stoppage but, understandably, against someone who punches like Makhmudov and after 16 months out of the ring, there was no need to take risks.
In the end, it was pretty much a glorified sparring session, with the levels between both men evident in every round.
With the fight going to the cards, two judges gave it a 120–108 shutout to Fury, with one judge giving a round to Makhmudov which you could just about have made an argument for.
The biggest moment of the night came after the scorecards were read out.
Fury’s long-term rival Anthony Joshua sat ringside throughout the fight and, at times, was spotted filming it on his phone, so when he caught Tyson’s eye during his post-fight interview, Fury didn’t waste any time in calling the fellow former world champion out.
After verbals were traded live on Netflix, it was revealed that, despite reports this week, the fight is still not signed, which has left boxing fans wondering whether we will ever actually get to see the two go at it in the ring.
For both men, it seems like now is the perfect time to make the fight. Or is it?
If you’re Tyson Fury, then it most certainly is. Twelve rounds under your belt against a live opponent after 16 months out of the ring—it’s almost the perfect preparation for a fight against Anthony Joshua.
For AJ, though, you can make a couple of arguments as to why this isn’t the right time to fight Tyson Fury next.
First off, people seem to forget it was only four months ago when AJ was involved in a fatal car crash that didn’t just kill two members of his team, but two of his closest friends.
The fact Joshua is even considering fighting again is a testament to his mental strength but, let’s be honest, if he decides to retire and never lace up a pair of boxing gloves again after what he’s been through, who could blame him? Absolutely no one. So diving into the biggest fight of your career—one that will define your legacy—in your first fight after that tragic incident is a heck of a lot to ask of any person.
Teaming up with old foe Oleksandr Usyk has seemed to rejuvenate him, giving him a good coping mechanism, but as he said in his interview after the fight, he’s got more important things to deal with at the moment than a fight with Tyson Fury.
Secondly, if he does decide to fight on, his preparation has by no means been the best.
After a devastating knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, he returned last December to stop Jake Paul inside six rounds in a fight which, let’s be honest, he never got out of first gear in.
Stepping in with Tyson Fury after fighting Jake Paul is by no means ideal preparation.
A potential fight with Deontay Wilder in the summer before Fury has been touted, and that would make a lot more sense and put AJ in a far better position to fight Fury. Or even a fight with someone like Guido Vianello would be a good tune-up for Joshua ahead of a Fury fight.
Whatever happens, Fury vs AJ might just need a little longer to sizzle to make sure we get the best possible fight between the two at this stage of their careers.
Prior to Fury vs Makhmudov, there were some big performances on the undercard.
Conor Benn staggered to a comfortable points victory over a visibly handicapped Regis Prograis, whilst Richard Riakporhe became a two-weight British champion when overpowering Jeamie TKV inside five rounds.
A much-improved Frazer Clarke and Justis Huni put on one of the battles of the evening, with Huni just coming out on top in a fight which really could have gone either way.
Felix Cash returned from nearly two years out of the ring to obliterate Liam O’Hare with a second-round stoppage, and Somerset-based Pole Paweł August caused a big upset on late notice to outpoint Simon Zachenhuber over six rounds.
There were also stoppage victories for Mikie Tallon, Elliot Whale and Sultan Almohammed.
A really good card in the end, with some eye-opening performances.