On April 11, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov headlined a Ring Magazine and Goldstar Promotions fight card, live globally on Netflix. Fury ultimately won comfortably on the cards and showed flashes of his old ability. After the conclusion of the bout, Fury’s brother Shane spoke to The Stomping Ground, giving his honest assessment of the victory.
Tyson Fury defeats Arslanbek Makhmudov
Makhmudov (21-3, 19 KOs) began aggressively on the front foot, with this approach seemingly shocking Fury (35-2-1, 24 KOs). “The Gypsy King” began to settle in the second round, landing a well-timed left cross towards the end of the second round.
Fury continued to land the cleaner punches, with Makhmudov mainly missing with the big right hand. When Fury let his hands go, there were flashes of the old “Gypsy King.” The accuracy from Fury was the big difference as he seemingly opened a dominant lead on the judges’ scorecards.
In the tenth round, Fury spun off the ropes before unloading on the big Russian, reminding all watching how good Fury can be. The fight went to the scorecards, which read 120-108 x2, and 119-109, all in favour of Fury.
After 16 months out of the ring, there were encouraging signs, but there’s also plenty to work on ahead of a potential Anthony Joshua showdown, whom Fury called out after the fight.
Shane Fury gives honest assessment of Tyson Fury’s comeback win
Reflecting on Tyson Fury’s comeback win over Makhmudov, his brother Shane said:
“I’m glad that both men got out of the ring healthy and strong. They done their job and got out. Performance-wise, was happy with it. Makhmudov was much more dangerous. He stayed in shape longer than what I thought he was going to.
“I thought he was going to become a chopping board after a few rounds. He stayed dangerous to the end. He probably lost the first, but I’ll tell you another thing, that’s probably done him more good than what he would do if he had a two-round blowout.
“And the thing is, when someone gets someone out there earlier, you’re always wanting to beat it. He probably could have got him out of there if he would have softened him up from the start, made it a bit more boring from the start and then put his foot down at the end. But listen, we’re happy with the win, and Makhmudov made it very horrible in there. He was holding; he wouldn’t work. But he done his job. He got through the distance. The only chance these men have got is to land one bomb on Tyson and put him out, and that in heavyweight boxing, is a good chance.
“It is what it is, we’re happy with the win.”