Tyson Fury controls the fight over the entire distance and returns with a convincing points victory.
Tyson Fury celebrated a clear unanimous points victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov on his return to the ring at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The official scores were: 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109. The win in front of 60,000 fans ends a two-fight losing streak for Fury (35-2-1, 24 knockouts), who had taken a 16-month break from the ring after consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Makhmudov (21-3, 19 knockouts) started the first round aggressively and set the tone with high pressure – but it remained his best round of the fight. Fury entangled him in clinches early on, also acted calmly from the back and worked with half feints of his jab. While Makhmudov tried to work him over in the infight, Fury repeatedly landed light but precise right hands. In the second round, Fury took control of the middle of the ring and refused to be pushed back. The “Gypsy King” thus set the tone for the rest of the 12-round duel. After his short time-out, Fury was back in top form – his uppercut and active, leading jab in particular underlined his clear difference in class compared to Makhmudov.
After the fight, the Gypsy King challenged Anthony Joshua, who was sitting ringside, to a duel in his next fight. However, due to technical problems, the fans in the stadium were unable to follow the entire conversation. Fury dedicated the victory to British boxing legend Ricky Hatton, who passed away last September.