Former trainer turned pundit Teddy Atlas has offered great insight into how the upcoming fight between Tyson Fury and Arslanbek Makmuhdov might play out.
Former WBC ruler Fury has been out of the ring for more than 14 months. His last bout was in December 2024 when he lost for a second time to Oleksandr Usyk, just a few months after his first career loss in May 2024.
He retired shortly afterwards but announced his return in January and, since then, has been in camp and working towards an April fight date with the Russian who beat Dave Allen last time out.
Makmuhdov is a towering figure and aggressive fighter, but he was beaten by a body shot when he fought Agit Kabayel, and was stopped by Guido Vianello in August 2024.
Speaking to Bet Victor, Atlas gave one of his typically detailed breakdowns of the contest.
“Is this an easy night for Tyson Fury? No, Makhmudov is a big, strong, game guy, tough, proud. He’s been knocked out, I get it. He’s not hard to hit, I get it. He’s one-dimensional, I get it. But he’s strong, he’s proud, he can punch, he’s game. Even though he’s been knocked out, he does have a good chin, I’ve seen it.
“But it’s not a foregone conclusion because we don’t know what Fury’s got left. We don’t. He gets hit on the chin with an uppercut, or a straight right hand, or whatever, by Makhmudov. You don’t know what will happen. So because of that, I’ll watch it.
“Is it the kind of fight, potentially, that Fury can outbox him, control the outside, pick him apart, kind of like he did with Dillian Whyte, catch him coming in, all that stuff, keep him at a distance, make it a one-sided affair? Is it possible? Yeah. But I don’t know, because I don’t know what that man’s got left.”
Fury’s old foe Usyk has said he would be interested in a third fight with ‘Teh Gypsy King,’ though at this stage most fans are clamouring for Fury and Joshua to finally share a ring after so many years tuning one another and with time now running out on both of their careers.
