LONDON (AP) — 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.
Conor Benn (24-1, 14 KOs) returns to Tottenham after two middleweight slugfests there against Chris Eubank Jr. in 2025. He lost the first one but dominated the rematch in November.
In the highlight of Saturday's undercard, the Briton faces Regis Prograis in a bout at a catchweight of 150 lbs. The 37-year-old Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs) is a former two-time world champion at super lightweight (140 lbs).
Both men are hoping for a title shot later this year. The 29-year-old Benn has traded verbal jabs with WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia.
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.
AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Music speaks to us beyond words; its vibrations reach our core and allow us to connect with … Read moreDiscover the Joy of Piano - Free Piano Lesson for those 50+ years old! (LIMITED SPOTS LEFT)
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
ninerfan49 said:
Providing Feedback said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.