Following his second loss to World Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, former two-time World Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury chose to close the book on his Boxing career. While it was not the first time Fury had announced a retirement from competition as he has been open with his struggles with mental health throughout his career and notably took a lengthy retirement after defeating Wladimir Klitschko for his first world championship in 2015, this retirement seemed to have a little more validity in the sense that it was not something that even the most cynical of Boxing fan or those of us who cover the sport could say that Fury would be back.
After all, not only had a decade nearly passed from when he previously stepped away from the sport, but since he returned in 2018, he had taken part in several grueling battles over the years including three brutal fights with Deontay Wilder over the WBC version of the World Heavyweight championship. Boxers like the rest of us are human beings and from what a fighter's body goes through while in preparation for a fight, to what happens during the fights themselves, the accumulation of all that punishment along with age has to take a toll on one's body with time.
After being out boxed in the second bout against Usyk, this observer thought both age and the physical toll Fury had paid throughout his career really meant that his second loss to Usyk seemed to indicate that he was ready for the next chapter in his life away from the sport.
Although losing to a fighter of Oleksandr Usuk’s caliber is in no way a disgrace and Fury was not disgraced in either of his two encounters with him, sometimes fighters do not want to end their careers with a defeat in addition to the road of a crowd and the financial rewards that come with getting into a Boxing ring. It was therefore of little surprise to me to hear that there will be a third chapter in the story of Tyson Fury's career as he will return to the ring on Saturday, April 11th at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England to face veteran contender Arslanbek Makhmudov in a scheduled twelve round Heavyweight bout that can be seen worldwide on digital subscription general entertainment network Netflix.
While this fight will serve as the next event Netflix has chosen to invest significantly into the sport, the obvious subplot here is what Tyson Fury have left to give as a fighter at this point in his career. Although nearly a year and a half away from active competition has likely been beneficial in terms of allowing his body to recuperate from the numerous battles he has been through over the years. At thirty-seven years old, however, that question of what he has left will be asked likely with each fight from this point forward.
In Arslanbek Makhmudov, Fury will face a fighter with a respectable record of twenty-three professional fights with nineteen of his twenty-one wins coming by stoppage. At 6’5 ½, Makhmudov does have the size that would indicate that this may not be a straightforward “Comeback” or “Tune-up” fight for Fury, who stands 6’9. Although Makhmudov has been stopped in his two career defeats against Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello, Makhmudov does have a career knockout percentage of over 90%, so this is a fighter that does carry punching power into the ring with him. While Fury has been knocked down numerous times in his career, he has always shown incredible ability to recover and has never been stopped in his career.
Despite always processing a good mix of overall Boxing skill, hand speed for a big man, and punching power in his own right, what some point to as a red flag with Fury is he tends to showboat in his fights rather than showing a serious approach that the upper level of the sport regardless of division often demands and at times even a lackadaisical approach, most notably against former UFC Heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou, who was competing in his first professional fight as a boxer and managed to not only drop Fury in what was a non-title bout where Fury’s WBC world title at the time was not at stake, but managed to turn in a performance where several felt he deserved a decision against Fury, who seemed both in attitude prior to the bout and in body language throughout to have taken him lightly.
Now at this stage in his career, coming off back to back losses to Oleksandr Usyk and a second retirement/sabbatical from the sport, it will be interesting to see if Fury implements a more serious approach now against an opponent who no doubt will be looking to use the name recognition that Fury brings with him to springboard himself towards a world title shot should Makhmudov emerge victorious. There is a lot on the table for both fighters here and when it comes to Boxing, especially in the Heavyweight division, truly anything can happen.
“And That's The Boxing Truth.”
Fury vs. Makhmudov takes place on Saturday, April 11th at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. The fight can be seen worldwide on digital subscription general entertainment streaming network Netflix beginning at 2PM ET/11AM PT. (*North American Start Times Only.*) (*Card and Start Times Subject to Change.*) For more information about Netflix including capable streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, Local start times in your region of the world, and to subscribe please visit: www.Netflix.com.
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