Tyson Fury faces Arslanbek Makhmudov this weekend in London, with a win moving him one step closer to a lucrative showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Fury has not fought since losing his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk back in December 2024, which led to his fifth retirement from the sport. At 37 years old, the Morecambe man hopes to become boxing’s fifth three-time heavyweight world champion, but must first deal with Russian powerhouse, Makhmudov.
Meanwhile, Joshua boxed Jake Paul last December but has not had a meaningful and competitive contest against a heavyweight rival since being brutally stopped by Daniel Dubois when challenging for the IBF heavyweight world title in September 2024.
With Joshua set to fight once before directing his attention towards Fury, ‘The Gypsy King’ suggested that he should also pursue a fight with Makhmudov.
“I think that Makhmudov and Joshua would be a good fight, it’d be a 50/50 fight, honestly. [Based] off his last performance over Jake Paul, that is a 50/50 fight, that [Makhmudov] is a big strong man. I would put them in the same pot, honest to god.
“I’m not putting one of them down, I think it’s a 50/50 fight. They are both big lumps, big bangers with no ability. He is perfect for a warm-up for ‘AJ’, same size, same kind of punch vocabulary.”
Fury-Makhmudov will be available to watch live on Netflix on Saturday, April 11. ‘AJ’ is expected to be watching from ringside.