Fury vs Makhmudov: Briton calls out Anthony Joshua after comeback win
Tyson Fury celebrated his return to the heavyweight mix with a points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and immediately returned to ringside to call out long-time rival Anthony Joshua.
The 37-year-old Briton returned after a 15-month absence and was not at his sharpest and was far from the Fury of old, but had enough ring IQ and technical control to outpoint Makhmudov in a largely one-sided 12 rounds.
Fury had to be careful as Makhmudov occasionally used overhand rights, but the Russian was largely one-dimensional as Fury earned a wide decision on scorecards of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109.
After the fight, Fury crossed the ring to speak to long-time rival Joshua, who spoke to him from the other side of the apron, with promoters indicating the long-discussed showdown would be next.
“Let’s give the fight fans what they want. Don’t run away from me this time. It’s been ten years in the making. Let’s dance,” Fury said.
Joshua refused to do so and leaned back in his chair before calmly replying: “I punched you when I was a kid and I will punch you again.
“You won’t tell me what to do, I’ve been after you for 10 years. I’m the boss, you work for me. I’m the owner. You work for me.”
A match that was meant to happen in both men’s best matches now remains boxing’s great what-if game – but it looks like it could finally become reality.
Fury has 35 wins, two losses and one draw in his first fight since back-to-back defeats against unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. For the 36-year-old Makhmudov, this is the third defeat in 24 matches.
