Former world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury has vowed to focus on the task at hand in his recent return to the ring, saying he is “still figuring it out”.
After a 15-month absence, 37-year-old Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) will take on Russian-born heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs), 36, on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Both fighters spoke at a pre-fight press conference in London on Thursday, hours after Croke Park’s chief executive announced the 80,000-capacity Dublin venue wanted to host the much-anticipated Battle of Britain superfight between Fury and fellow former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Fury and Joshua came close to brawling on several occasions, but contract disputes, fitness issues and losses elsewhere thwarted previous attempts to be in the same ring.
The two sides were reportedly close to an agreement until Joshua decided to take a break from boxing following a car accident in December that killed two of his close friends.
Joshua, 36, is now back in training and competed in Derek Chisora’s loss to Deontay Wilder last Saturday.
Fury insisted on Thursday: “I don’t want to name names when I have a dangerous fighter in front of me. The rest of the fighters can hide, but first I need to give Mahmudov a place to hide.”
He added, “Like Daniel Dubois said when he fought Anthony Joshua[in 2024]everyone said, the boxing brains said, ‘AJ will knock him out within three rounds,’ but they ignored him. ‘Are you going to fight Tyson next?'”
“And I said, you better give Dubois’ name some respect, because he’s going to take him on the chin. And that’s what happened. So I’m not going to fall into the same hurdles and traps.”
Nevertheless, he hinted at future plans for 2026 when speaking on Ring’s YouTube channel later Thursday.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m going to focus on this great Russian, then Anthony Joshua and maybe the third fight (against Oleksandr Usyk),” Fury said.
“I’m tired of normal life”
Fury retired at the end of 2024 after two consecutive losses to world champion Usyk and spent a year without fighting, but announced his latest return on January 4.
“People always question my retirement,” Fury said. On Thursday, he reiterated that the impetus for his return was the death of Joshua’s friend. Because “every day must be lived as if it were the last.”
“I’ve retired five times now and it was with all my heart. I’ve come back with flying colors four times and I’ll see if I can do a fifth time,” he added.
“Don’t get me wrong, when I retire, I have no intention of coming back, but I miss the fight. But after a few months, you get tired of normal life. Getting the kids to school, taking the dog for walks, things like that. I miss everything that comes with big fights.”
John Fury, Tyson’s father and a longtime fixture in his son’s corner as he rose through the boxing ranks, said last month that three intense fights with Deontay Wilder meant the “Gypsy King” was “beyond the best”.
“Tyson has been gone since the Deontay Wilder fight. Tyson was finished by Tyson…Makhmudov is a problem for Tyson,” said Fury.
But Tyson said Thursday: “My reaction time has never diminished. I still have it. 100 percent.”
Mahmudov says “enough is enough” after wrestling with bear
Meanwhile, the Russian-born fighter played down suggestions that Fury, a “great boxer”, would be hampered by a recent lack of ring time.
“It’s not a problem for him because he has experience,” Makhmudov said, playfully grabbing Fury for a moment in a bearhug.
“Maybe it’s the other way around, because he can bounce back from tough fights in the past.”
Mahmudov made headlines about two years ago ahead of his fight by posting a video of himself wrestling a 2.9-meter (9-foot-8-inch), 419-kilogram (419 kg) bear in a forest outside Moscow. He says this encounter taught him to face fear.
“It was very bad. It wasn’t just scary, it was really scary,” Mahmudov told the Press Association this week.
“I’ve always liked challenges since I was a kid, so I did it to test myself and see how I would feel in that crazy situation.
“You won’t understand its strength until you get close to it. In an instant, it becomes just like flesh.”
“It can’t be compared to humans. It’s like a natural disaster. It’s unexplainable and crazy.
“It’s good preparation for boxing because you have to control your emotions and your fears. You have to overcome your fears and overcome your phobias. It was good for that, but once is enough!”
