Tyson Fury is back. Again.
By the count of the former two-time heavyweight champion, Saturday’s bout with Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is his fifth return from retirement.
‘The Gypsy King’ spent the entirety of 2025 on the sidelines after his back-to-back points losses to Oleksandr Usyk, who was crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion for a quarter of a century thanks to his thrilling May 2024 win over Fury.
Usyk also prevailed in the December rematch, persuading Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) to walk away. Or try to. Now, at 37, he faces a big-punching but vulnerable knockout artist in Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs).
There are still huge fights out there for Fury, so how much does he have left? Let’s check on the latest betting odds, our prediction for the fight and where to get 50/1 for Fury to win!
Fury vs. Makhmudov odds: Who is the favourite?
Tyson Fury is the red hot favourite to prevail in his 38th professional contest, best priced 2/9 at the time of writing. You can get Arslanbek Makhmudov springing a surprise at 9/2, with the draw 20/1!
Fury vs. Makhmudov prediction: Who will win?
On the face of it, Makhmudov is a very shrewdly selected comeback opponent. He is a credible, world-ranked heavyweight, whose 90.5% knockout ratio marks him out as a dangerous operator.
But, as is often the case when combing through a boxer’s resume, the hulking Russian’s defeats and the manner of them are more instructive.
Makhmudov entered the first Riyadh Season card in December 2023 as an undefeated favourite against Agit Kabayel, only to be blown away. He was floored three times and stopped in round four.
Kabayel’s body attack sapped Makhmudov and Fury, despite his rangy dimensions, can bang effectively downstairs. A two-round blowout against Miljan Rovcanin followed – 17 of his 19 KOs have come within two rounds – before Makhmudov was stopped in eight rounds by Guido Vianello in August 2024.
The Kabayal and Vianello losses flagged clear issues with Makhmudov’s chin, stamina and all-around durability. These flaws were also on display as he claimed a points win over the popular but overmatched Dave Allen last October.
Matchroom Boxing/Mark Robinson
Such a fighter should be made to measure for Fury. The ‘Gypsy King’ has been dropped several times in his career, but his problems have typically come against shorter fighters such as Usyk and Steve Cunningham. Against fellow giants, he has been able to stay out of harm’s way more often than not. Fury’s ring smarts in terms of avoiding Makhmudov’s bombs early, and his uncommon engine for a man of his size means that this has all the makings of a trouble-free assignment.
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The great unknown is how far from his peak Fury is after the long lay-off. If he comes into the ring sloppy and unfocused, Makhmudov has the capability to cause a sensation.
It really should not come to that. Fury is not the fighter he was, somewhat understandably, in his late 30s, having traded on superb speed and reflexes. He made the calculated decision to diverge from that style with sensational results when he walked down Deontay Wilder and beat him up to win the WBC title in their February 2020 rematch.
The trilogy fight with Wilder was brutal and there’s a strong case to be made that neither man has been the same since. Wilder showed that in his ragged win over Derek Chisora last weekend. Fury’s decline has not appeared to be so pronounced just yet – he was competitive in both defeats to Usyk, a truly outstanding champion.
This feels like a weekend when Fury will return to cheat Father Time and keep the prospect of money-spinning showdowns with Anthony Joshua and Usyk on the table. But the clock is ticking.
Prediction: Fury via round 8 TKO