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.
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“I’ve never overlooked anybody in my life, and I’ll definitely not overlook this beast. He’s a scary dude,” Fury said Thursday at a press conference.
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.
Fury promised he will be “speedy, skillful, handsome and destructive” on Saturday.
Will Fury get another title shot?
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.
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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. Both fights were in Riyadh.
Fury told Netflix after Thursday’s press conference that if there’s a third Usyk fight, he’d want it to be in Britain.
“As far as I’m concerned that’s closed for now. I’m going concentrate on this big Russian fella, and then Anthony Joshua,” Fury said. “I want three fights this year. I want to do April, maybe September and December. So maybe Usyk will be that December fight.”
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What about Anthony Joshua?
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) has made no secret that he wants Joshua next. The BBC reported Thursday that Croke Park in Dublin could be the setting later this year for a Fury-Joshua showdown to top a card that would include Irish great Katie Taylor.
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.
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Joshua appears set to resume fighting. Last weekend, he attended the Deontay Wilder vs. Derek Chisora bout in London and had a brief interaction with Wilder after the American beat Chisora.
Does Makhmudov wrestle bears?
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.
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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 vs. Regis Prograis
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.
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How to watch
The main card begins at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) and is available on Netflix.
Fury’s ring walk is expected around 10:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. ET), about one hour after Benn vs. Prograis.
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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
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