Fury faces bear-wrestling Makhmudov in his latest comeback
[AP Photo]
Tyson Fury’s latest comeback has revived the prospect of a long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua.
First, though, the self-described “Gypsy King” needs to deal with a Russian-born heavyweight who wrestled a bear for fun. Arslanbek Makhmudov is Fury’s opponent in their 12-round fight Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Fury, the former two-time heavyweight champion, came out of retirement for the fifth time because he wants to “punch men in the face and get paid for it.”
The 37-year-old Fury had called it quits shortly after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024 for a second time — his only two professional defeats.
Usyk holds the WBC, WBA and IBF titles and at age 39 has indicated he only has a few fights left in him. The Ukrainian’s next bout, though, has taken everyone by surprise — he’s set to face kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven in May at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Also in May, WBO title holder Fabio Wardley faces Daniel Dubois in Manchester.
Usyk told The Associated Press in a recent interview he foresees a trilogy bout with the charismatic Englishman: “In my head, Tyson Fury, it’s the last dance.”
In their first meeting, Fury had lost his WBC title to Usyk via split decision in May 2024. The rematch was a unanimous decision for Usyk.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs), if he can take care of business Saturday, has his sights set on Joshua, telling DAZN: “That’s the fight we’re looking to make next.”
The 36-year-old Joshua had called out Fury after breaking Jake Paul’s jaw in a stoppage victory in December. Days later, though, Joshua was involved in a fatal car crash in Nigeria. He was a passenger in the vehicle and two of his close friends were killed.
Fury has said the tragedy is part of what motivated him to come out of retirement.
Joshua appears set to resume fighting. Last weekend, he attended the Deontay Wilder vs. Derek Chisora bout in London and had a brief exchange with Wilder after the American beat Chisora.
The 36-year-old Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs) has created some buzz by posting a video that showed him wrestling a bear. He explained in a Feb. 21 social media post that “the goal was to overcome the threshold of fear and learn to control yourself in critical situations.”
Makhmudov hails from the Russian southern republic of Dagestan but lives in Canada. His most recent fight was a 12-round unanimous decision over Dave Allen in October.
Makhmudov’s left eye was swollen shut in a loss to Guido Vianello in 2024. He was felled by Agit Kabayel’s body shots in a fourth-round stoppage in 2023.
The event begins at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) and is available on Netflix.
Fury’s ring walk is expected at 10:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. ET), about one hour after Benn vs. Prograis. MDT/AP
