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 retirementfor 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 afterlosing to Oleksandr Usykin December 2024 for a second time — his only two professional defeats.
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. TheUkrainian’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 holderFabio Wardley faces Daniel Duboisin Manchester.
Usyk told The Associated Pressin 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 Usykvia split decisionin May 2024. The rematch was a unanimous decision for Usyk.
What about Anthony Joshua?
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 afterbreaking Jake Paul's jawin a stoppage victory in December. Days later, though, Joshua was involved in afatal car crashin Nigeria. He was a passenger in the vehicle and two of his close friends were killed.
Fury has said the tragedy is part of whatmotivated himto 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 exchange with Wilder afterthe 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 ofDagestanbut 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 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 butdominated the rematchin 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 withWBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia.
How to watch
The event begins at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) and is available onNetflix.
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
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