Tyson Fury beats Makhmudov, challenges Anthony Joshua after comeback win

Tyson Fury ended a 16-month absence by outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov and used the victory to press for a domestic blockbuster with Anthony Joshua. Fury crossed the ring after the final bell, took the microphone on the Netflix broadcast and told Joshua, "Next I want to give you the fight you’ve all been waiting for. I want you, Anthony Joshua!" He also invoked his status as "the boss" and reminded audiences he has pursued the matchup for a decade.

The fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on April 11, 2026 finished as a unanimous decision, with judges scoring the bout 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109. The card drew an estimated crowd of around 60,000 and was carried on Netflix. Fury’s professional record after the fight was widely reported as 35-2-1 with 24 KOs; Makhmudov’s record was reported at approximately 21-3 with 19 KOs.

Anthony Joshua was seated ringside and did not immediately accept the callout on camera, with on-site exchanges described as cautious and noting that any deal would require negotiation. Promoters and power brokers moved quickly into view: Frank Warren remains Fury’s promoter, Eddie Hearn represents Joshua through Matchroom, and Saudi entertainment organiser Turki Alalshikh teased a major announcement during the broadcast and is being cited as a likely facilitator for a mega-event.

The ringside spectacle reignited a decade-long narrative that has repeatedly stalled for business and legal reasons. Fury and Joshua had appeared to reach a two-fight unification agreement on March 15, 2021, with a reported 50-50 purse split for the first fight and 60-40 for a rematch, but that framework collapsed amid arbitration tied to Deontay Wilder, promoter disputes and missed deadlines by late 2022. Fury’s career arc was altered by back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk on May 18, 2024 and December 21, 2024, factors that help explain layoffs and opponent selection through 2025 and 2026.

Practical impediments remain concrete and immediate: purse split negotiations revive old flashpoints, platform control must be settled between Netflix and prospective Saudi organisers including SELA, and medical clearances and timing for Joshua are unresolved after his December 19, 2025 knockout of Jake Paul in Miami and a Dec. 29, 2025 car crash in Nigeria that caused fatalities among passengers but left Joshua with injuries later described as non-life-threatening. Eddie Hearn has publicly suggested a tune-up fight, with Deontay Wilder floated as an option, underscoring divergent campaign plans between the camps.

The ringside callout makes a Fury‑Joshua meeting plausible but not inevitable. To reach a signed contract this year the teams must agree on purse division, broadcast and promotion rights, a timetable that accommodates Joshua’s rehabilitation and any tune-up fight, and the settlement of lingering legal encumbrances originating in 2021–22. Names to watch in negotiations are Frank Warren, Eddie Hearn and Turki Alalshikh, and any realistic timetable will hinge on those stakeholders resolving money, medical clearance and platform control rather than the theatrics of a post-fight microphone.