Tyson Fury v Arslanbek Makhmudov: heavyweight boxing – live

Anthony Joshua is ringside in Tottenham and Turki al-Sheikh,boxing’s Saudi powerbroker, is speaking on Netflix. He hints at “a big surprise” tonight and says that “we will announce the biggest fight in the history of England”.

Right, you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out what he means. So if all goes to plan tonight, we’ll be getting a Fury-Joshua post-fight face-off tonight. Unless Makhmudov can upset the odds.

Richard Riakporhe wins the British heavyweight title by stopping Jeamie ‘TKV’ Tshikeva. Riakporhe adds his name to the list of heavyweight danger men, the former cruiserweight displaying heavyweight pop as he dominated TKV.

Riakporhe dropped TKV with a powerful right hand in round five, then bludgeoned the defending British champ along the ropes, prompting the referee to leap in. A little early? Arguably, but that was one-way traffic and there was only one winner.

The new champion, looking younger than his 36 years (what’s your secret, Richard?) is now 3-0 (3 KOs) since moving up from cruiserweight.

We’ve had one heavyweight contest involving a Briton already: Frazer Clarke lost a majority decision to Australia’s Justis Huni. It’s a third defeat in his past four for the veteran Olympic bronze medallist Clarke – though he was in tough against Huni, who’s only loss came against Fabio Wardley in a bout he was winning handily before he was spectacularly stopped.

A close fight with one judge seeing it even probably isn’t the worst outcome for Clarke, who’s also suffered at the fists of the unbeaten Wardley. Huni confirms his standing as a decent heavyweight contender.

More elite-level pre-fight previewing: Donald McRae on the reasons behind Tyson Fury’s latest comeback. I encourage you to give it a read.

For me, it’s everything,” Fury said of boxing. “It’s everything that I love to do and it’s something that I’ll continue to do.” He then added, with aching simplicity: “It’s been a while and I’ve missed it.”

Arslanbek Makhmudov may look ferocious but Donald McRae found him to be very friendly when they sat down together. Unless, perhaps, you are a bear.

Although it does sound like he regrets that particularly contest. “It was very terrible to be honest,” Arslanbek told Don.

Welcome to Tyson Fury’s return to the ring after a 16-month absence, officially ending retirement number 1,247 (OK, it’s number five, but close enough). His opponent? The fearsome-looking Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov, although you suspect the real prize for Fury is victory setting up a long-awaited megafight with Anthony Joshua.

Not that victory is guaranteed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Fury turns 38 in August, hasn’t won a fight since October 2023 and – while there’s no shame in two competitive points losses to Oleksandr Usyk – he’s probably no longer at the peak of his considerable powers. There’s always a danger with his age, wear and tear, and a previously less-than-spartan lifestyle outside of the ring that Fury might just turn up and discover he no longer has it.

As for the 36-year-old Makhmudov: it’s obvious why he’s been chosen. A whopping 6ft 6in, 265lb with the look of a James Bond henchman/Rocky villain/WWE monster heel (delete as applicable). Yet for all his solid amateur pedigree and a decent 21-2 (19 KOs) record, he’s a pretty straightforward boxer – and one who’s been stopped in two of his last five fights.

In his last outing, Makhmudov beat a Briton in Doncaster’s Dave Allen. But Fury is no Allen and the best version of ‘The Gypsy King’ would absolutely toy with Makhmudov. How much of that Fury is left, however, is a real point of intrigue on a card that also includes Conor Benn v Regis Prograis in a 150lb catchweight bout as Benn moves on from Chris Eubank Jr and his former promoter, Eddie Hearn.

There’s some good heavyweight scraps on the undercard as well but we’re expecting Benn v Prograis to begin around 8.55pm (BST), while the first bell for Fury v Makhmudov will probably be approx 10pm. Please follow along with us!