LONDON (AP) — Tyson Fury showed little rust in dominating Arslanbek Makhmudov for a unanimous decision victory Saturday and immediately challenged a ringside Anthony Joshua to fight him next.
“Let’s give the fight fans what they want,” Fury bellowed after going 12 rounds in his latest comeback.
A long-awaited Fury-Joshua heavyweight showdown would be one of the biggest fights in British boxing history.
Joshua sat ringside and appeared to be using his phone to film portions of the fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He didn’t commit to anything when Fury (35-2-1) yelled into the Netflix microphone: “Do you accept my challenge?”
Joshua said, “I’ll punch you up,” and “I’m the landlord. You work for me.”
As for Saturday’s fight, the self-described “Gypsy King” had a fairly slow start but otherwise dictated the pace with his left jab and in later rounds landed frequent lead uppercuts on Makhmudov (21-3). Two judges scored it 120-108 and the other 119-109.
The 36-year-old Joshua, a former world champion, later told Netflix in an interview: “Contracts will be sent over. You’ll probably see us in the ring.”
He noted he’s still “sorting some things out” following the death of two close friends in a fatal car accident in Nigeria. Joshua was a passenger in the vehicle.
The 37-year-old Fury, the former two-time heavyweight champion, called it quits shortly after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024 for a second time — his only two professional defeats.
“If AJ don’t want it, then lets get Usyk in the trilogy,” Fury said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.
At Fury’s request, his ring walk was preceded by a tribute to the late Ricky Hatton, the Manchester native and former world champion who died last year at age 46.
The message “RIP Ricky” was stitched on the back of Fury’s shorts.
Benn handles Prograis
Conor Benn earned a 10-round unanimous decision over Regis Prograis to bolster his case for a title shot against WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia.
Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) took command in the middle rounds with punishing body shots against 37-year-old Prograis (30-4, 24 KOs), a former two-time world champion at super lightweight (140 lbs).
Saturday’s bout was at a catchweight of 150 lbs.
All three judges scored it 98-92 for the 29-year-old Briton, who sustained cuts over both eyes from head clashes.
___
AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing