Fury, who returns to the ring against Mahmudov on Saturday, says he wants to face compatriot Joshua next.
Published April 9, 2026
Tyson Fury hopes to win his return fight against Canada-based Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in a highly anticipated clash between Anthony Joshua and Britain’s former heavyweight world champion.
Fury, 37, came out of retirement for the fifth time in his career on Saturday at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, returning to the ring and looking ahead to the weekend.
“I have to think about fighting Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday night, but everything is going well and that’s the fight[Joshua]wants next,” he told BBC Radio on Wednesday.
“I know he just had a match with Jake Paul, but whatever…a match is a match, really. So, yeah, we’re going to get ready for that right after this.”
Joshua, 36, last fought in December when he suffered a reality check against American Jake Paul in Miami, scoring a brutal sixth-round knockout.
A few days later, the former WBA, IBF and WBO champion was involved in a car accident that killed two of his close friends and was taken to a hospital in Nigeria.
American former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder also called up Joshua for a long-awaited matchup after defeating Briton Derek Chisora by split decision last Saturday.
Joshua’s first public appearance since his car accident was at the O2 Arena in London, where he attended the fight between Chisora and Wilder.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said Joshua needed time to recover before considering returning to the ring himself.
Fury, who has not fought since losing to Ukraine’s current world champion Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, dismissed the idea of a Joshua-Wilder fight.
“I’ve never seen two guys skate as well as these two,” he said of the Wilder-Chisora fight. “They looked like a couple of club fighters in a white-collar match at the local leisure centre. It was sad to watch.”
