Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is scheduled to return to prizefighting on April 11 against Russian-born heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov. It will be Fury’s first fight since 2024, after he retired a fourth time following his second consecutive title defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) announced his return to boxing on January 4 after 15 months away from prizefighting. His announcement curiously came a week after compatriot Anthony Joshua was involved in a car crash in Nigeria. The accident sent Joshua to the hospital and killed two of his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele.
Tyson Fury Says Joshua Car Crash Convinced Him to Return
A month later, Tyson Fury admitted in a press conference that his return was largely influenced by Joshua’s accident and its unfortunate aftermath. According to the Gypsy King himself, the accident was possibly “the biggest turning point in this comeback.”
“Tomorrow might not ever come, and I suppose the biggest turning point in this comeback for me was the tragedy that happened with Anthony Joshua,” Fury said on Monday. “You should never put things off until tomorrow, or next year, or next week, because tomorrow is not promised to nobody.”
Fighting, evidently, was one of the things Tyson Fury couldn’t put off for tomorrow or next year, as he will be back in the ring come April.
Tyson Fury on Making Boxing Great Again
From the looks of it, though, the Joshua incident only fast-tracked the inevitable, as it appears Fury was actually plotting a return to boxing anyway. His biggest reason, evidently, is “to make boxing great again.”
“The truth of the matter is I came back for one reason only, and that’s to make boxing great again,” the Gypsy King added. “Since I’ve retired for the fifth time over a year ago, boxing for me has gone on a downward slope, and it’s become quite boring.”
To be fair, Fury has fought in some of the most exciting bouts in recent years, including his three fights with Deontay Wilder and his two fights with Usyk. In April, Tyson Fury will look to write another chapter in his boxing career.
