As expected, Tyson Fury didn’t stay retired for long.
Fury is one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of this generation. However, after a pair of losses to Oleksandr Usyk, he announced his decision to retire from the sport.
Fury had already retired a number of times, only to return soon after, so most people expected we’d see him in the ring again.
Those people were right.
Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov boxing match to air on Netflix
On Jan. 28, news surfaced that Fury will return to the ring for a boxing match on Netflix on April 11. His opponent will not be Usyk, or even Anthony Joshua, but a Russian boxer named Arslanbek Makhmudov, whom most casual fans have likely never heard of.
Despite not being a very big name, Makhmudov has a solid resume. The Russian is the current WBA Inter-Continental champion, and has 19 knockouts on his 21-2 pro boxing record.
“Excited to be back,” Fury said in press release announcing the Netflix boxing match (via MMA Mania). “Heart’s always been and always will be in boxing. Someone go tell the king that the ace is back!”
Makhmudov, unsurprisingly, is also very excited for the fight, which has the potential to completely change his career and his life.
“I am thrilled about the opportunity,” he said. “I’m coming to deliver a war. Tyson Fury has been a big champion. I will be more ready than ever to leave with a massive W.”
Netflix has recently been all-in on boxing. First, the streaming service promoted a controversial boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. Then, last year, we got a blockbuster showdown between Terrence Crawford and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and later, a fight between Paul and Joshua. All three did huge viewership numbers.
Fury vs. Makhmudov is unlikely to reach those heights, but should still attract a lot of boxing fans to the streaming service.