Lawrence Okolie will be an interested onlooker when Tyson Fury finally makes his comeback against Arslanbek Makmuhdov.
Okolie is a former cruiserweight and bridgerweight world champion who has now made the long-discussed move up to heavyweight.
He has fought three times in the division since December 2024, and the last time was when he beat Ebenezer Tetteh in round two in December 2025.
He is now looking further up the ranking and is hoping to work his way into the picture with some of the more decorated names.
One of them is Fury, who has been out of action for well over 12 months having retired when he lost two back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024. They were the first two losses of his career and saw the Ukrainian become the undisputed champion.
His latest comeback is in April against Russian giant Makhmudov, who has a mixed record. Last time out, he beat Dave Allen on points, but has previously lost to Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello in his 23 outings.
Speaking to Seconds Out, Okolie gave his succinct prediction for the contest, which takes place in London and features Conor Benn against Regis Prograis on the undercard.
“It’s good, to be fair I might even ask [Fury] for some sparring. He’s tall so it’d be good to get some work in but I expect him to win quite comfortably, yeah.”
Okolie is scheduled to face Tony Yoka on 25 April in Paris. A win there would put him firmly in the picture as a heavyweight contender, while a win for Fury also catapuls him back into world title contention.
