Tyson Fury says boxing is boring without him at first face-to-face with comeback opponent

Tyson Fury vowed to "make boxing great again" as he faced the media for the first time ahead of his comeback fight.

The former world heavyweight champion will fight Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London on Saturday April 11.

Fury came face-to-face with his hulking opponent, from Russia, at a press conference in London on Monday to promote the fight, to be shown on Netflix.

"I came back for one reason only, and that's to make boxing great again," said 'The Gypsy King'.

"Since I retired again, boxing has gone on a downward slope and become quite boring.

"Like Donald Trump wants to make America great again, I want to make boxing great again.

"I was enjoying myself (in retirement) but there comes a point when you just have to go back to work. And my work is the fight game.

"If I was on the decline, I'd say it. But I feel good. Rejuvenated.

"I've been in Thailand training and the sunshine makes you smile.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back in the ring. I've been really brutalising myself over the past eight weeks and I've got eight weeks to go.

"What do I know about Makhmudov? I know he's a giant. I have to fight someone dangerous. I will really focus and get my teeth into my training camp.

Below, Tyson Fury and Arslanbek Makhmudov at the press conference on Monday.

"What better thing can a man do than punch another man's face in and get paid a load of money to do it? I missed it.

"I'm going to make his face look like a butcher's block after about four rounds."

Makhmudov said: "For me, it's a dream fight.

"I just follow my goals, enjoy this time now, and I'm looking forward to April 11th to reach my goal.

"He's a great boxer. I think it's going to be a good fight."

Spencer Brown, Tyson's manager, said: "I could see him coming back, he had to scratch his itch.

"He's had a fantastic year (in retirement), really enjoyed it, but he wants to stop Makhmudov and go on from there.

"This is going to be a massive occasion.

"This guy can fight. It's a potential banana skin (but) I'll back my man until the end of the earth."

Fury's promoter Frank Warren said: "He looks in the best condition I've ever seen him in.

"And that means you've got a dangerous, dangerous Tyson Fury."

Fury, 37, has been away from the family home in Morecambe since before Christmas, saying he'd decided to go to Thailand because "the rain was depressing me".

Below, Tyson pictured inside Morecambe Winter Gardens in 2022.

"When I'm in Thailand and I wake up and it's 30 degrees outside, I think, this is awesome.

"If you wake up in the rain, you feel s__t. If you wake up in the sunshine, you feel happy. I want to feel happy.

"I don't like the cold anymore, I don't like the rain and the greyness, I don't like the two weeks of summer we get per year. That's why I'm in Thailand."

During the press conference he also revealed that Season 2 of 'At Home with the Furys', a fly-on-the-wall docuseries following Tyson and his family, will air on Netflix in April.

Makhmudov, who is 6ft 6in, has a professional record of 21 wins from 23 fights, with 19 wins inside the distance.

The 36-year-old WBA Inter-Continental Champion's only defeats have come by stoppage to top contender Agit Kabayel in 2023, and to Guido Vianello in 2024. He won his last fight, defeating Dave Allen by unanimous decision.

Fury, who has a record of 34 wins, two defeats and one draw, became world champion for the first time when he dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in 2015 to become the unified WBO, WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion.

After that triumph, mental health struggles kept him out of the sport until 2018, but he emerged from a thrilling trilogy with Deontay Wilder as the WBC world champion.

He has sold out both Wembley Stadium (defeating Dillian Whyte in April 2022) and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (beating Dereck Chisora in December 2022) and the fight with Makhmudov will be his first bout in the UK since then.

The only professional fighter to beat him is Oleksandr Usyk, who won their 2024 undisputed showdown by split decision, and a rematch by unanimous decision later that same year, both in Saudi Arabia. 

Following the second close, disputed loss to Usyk, Tyson announced his retirement from boxing. 

Fury announced his retirement previously in 2022 after beating Whyte but quickly returned for the Chisora win.