Tyson Fury sets up Anthony Joshua fight with win vs Arslanbek Makhmudov

Tyson Fury has set up a mega fight against Anthony Joshua with his comeback win against Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday night.

The 37-year-old delivered a dominant display in his return against Makhmudov but was unable to knock the huge Russian heavyweight to the canvas and won via unanimous decision.

Fury had been retired for 16 months and had not fought since his rematch defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024 before stepping back in the ring with Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Gypsy King wore sky blue shorts with ‘RIP Ricky’ embroidered on the beltline in a tribute to Ricky Hatton, who died last September, and delivered several neat combinations to Makhmudov, who soaked up a significant amount of punishment and caught his opponent with the occasional swinging shot

Fury’s victory now puts him in pole position to fight Joshua later this year in what will be one of the biggest fights in the history of British boxing.

Joshua knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December but his career was thrown in doubt after he was involved in a car crash in Nigeria later that month which saw him lose two close friends and members of his team.

The 36-year-old, who has also lost twice to Usyk in his career, was sat ringside to watch Fury’s return and made it clear that a fight between the pair is finally on the cards.

‘I’ve got my eyes on the prize, 100 per cent, you know what I’m here for,’ Joshua said when interviewed by Netflix during Fury’s fight.

‘It’s been a long time, he’s been out of the ring for a long time, this is his welcome back.

‘We’ll be in the deep end very soon.’

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