Tyson Fury continues to try to quit boxing. But, of course, the moment he gets out, he gets pulled in again.
Fury insists he had no intention of returning to boxing. Nevertheless, his brief retirement will come to an end on April 11th when he takes on Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In early 2025, still wise after two losses to Oleksandr Usyk, Fury announced he was calling it quits on the sport.
It’s by no means the first time Fury has retired and then changed direction, but he insists it wasn’t pre-planned.
While traveling to Thailand at the end of last year, he stepped up his training and the event was gaining momentum. He is still in Thailand, deep in camp for the fight in three weeks.
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Sky Sports boxing reporter Andy Scott brings you all the latest information on Fury’s return to action against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
This return was inevitable, he insists. It was impulsive.
“I’m happy to be back,” Fury told Sky Sports. “I came to Thailand just for the Christmas holidays with my family. When I came here, I was still retired. I had no intention of coming back. The sunshine brought me back.”
“I felt so good that I thought I was going to go into camp here, train here and play games. And that’s exactly what I did. When I came here in December, I had no intention of coming back. I never had any intention of coming back. I was happy to retire,” he continued.
“Then, sunshine, a bit of training, one thing led to another, and then I was able to sign a big contract.
“The next one will be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the whole world will be watching.”
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Fury says he won’t have a trainer for return fight with Mahmudov
The lure of returning to the ring in front of a raucous crowd is hard to shake, even for a former two-time world heavyweight champion.
“You can’t win, can you? It’s been four years since I was last at Tottenham and four years since I last played in England. I’m looking forward to getting back there and soaking up some of that atmosphere,” Fury said.
“There is nothing more uplifting than a British football stadium.”
Mahmudov is a formidable opponent, especially in his comeback fight. But Fury promises to be inspired that night.
“All I can say is that Makhmudov is in serious trouble,” Fury said. “He’s in a corner. Makhmudov is in a corner. He’s a tough guy, he’s had a few losses, like me, and he’s got a lot of knockouts, 20 knockouts and counting.
“We’re similar ages, similar builds, similar weights, similar records. He was No. 2 in the rankings when I was world champion and I was WBC champion. He was one of the fights I was actually offered. So now we’re actually doing it, so here we go.”
“Let’s throw. May the best man win.”
