LONDON – Tyson Fury shook off ring rust on his return and won a unanimous points decision over Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday, potentially setting up a long-awaited clash with Anthony Joshua.

The former world heavyweight champion completed his latest retirement and 16-month hiatus by dominating Russia’s Makhmudov to scores of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium under the watchful eye of Fury’s British rival Joshua, seated at ringside among a crowd of around 60,000.

Fury (35-2-1, 24 KO), 37, from the Isle of Man, boxed patiently after the punch to mount an effective rather than spectacular comeback, showing he still has keen boxing and good footwork. Makhmudov (21-3, 19 KO) was an obliging opponent as he marched forward recklessly at times, inviting Fury to beat him.

It was a return to winning ways for Fury after consecutive defeats on points in world title fights against Oleksandr Usyk in his previous two appearances.

Following his first victory in England since defending his WBC title against Derek Chisora ​​in December 2022, Fury turned his attention to Joshua. Fury encourages his compatriot to fight him next, and not former WBC champion Deontay Wilder (40), who recently defeated another veteran Chisora ​​on points.

Speaking to Joshua, who filmed the fight on his mobile phone after the victory, Fury said: “Next I want to give you the fight you’ve all been waiting for. I want you, Anthony Joshua, let’s give the fight fans what they want, the Battle of Britain. I, the Gypsy King, challenge you, Anthony Joshua, to fight me next. Do you accept the challenge? Don’t run away from me this time, let’s dance.”

Joshua declined Fury’s invitation to join him in the ring and said there was no deal for them to fight.

“There are negotiations going on. I’ve sat at this table with him many times,” Joshua told Netflix.

“I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Yes, I’m going to fight him’. I’m not here to gain strength. I’m here to fight. Contracts will be sent. We’ll go through the minutiae and probably, more than that, we’ll be seen in the ring next. But I’m not here to start getting in the ring and screaming in someone’s face.”

Despite Joshua’s refusal to confirm the fight, Netflix posted on social media that it would take place this fall.

Dublin’s 80,000-seat Croke Park stadium has emerged as an option to host the megafight in September should former world champion Joshua, 36, decide to withdraw from the interim warm-up fight.

Various attempts have been made to arrange a Fury vs. Joshua fight over the past six years without success, with discussions most recently being put on hold after Joshua was involved in a car crash that killed two of his friends in Nigeria in December. While it probably won’t be as large as when they were both world champions and first agreed to fight in June 2020, it would still be the biggest fight in 2026.

Joshua, who is currently training with former conqueror Usyk, may want to have a warm-up fight this summer for his fight with Fury, which would push their fight to tardy 2026.

Before his knockout victory over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December, Joshua suffered a fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in an IBF world heavyweight title fight in September 2024. His last victory over an established heavyweight (not counting Paul and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou) was against Otto Wallin in December 2023.

If this was Fury’s last fight before Joshua, he showed that his jab and footwork are as classy as ever, although Makhmudov did manage to land a few demanding right hands. Fury, who reigned twice as world champion (2015 and 2020-2024), entered the ring in the blue colors of former welterweight and junior world champion Ricky Hatton, who died last September at the age of 46.

Fury had to deal with an aggressive start from Makhmudov, who came forward, landing wild punches, some of which landed. Fury landed a nice flurry of punches early in the second round, but Makhmudov soon attacked again, trying to disrupt his rhythm.

Fury, who had Steward SugarHill in his corner after saying he had been training in Thailand for the past four months, landed some good counter punches tardy in Round 2 when Makhmudov missed another large right hand, giving him the round win.

Makhmudov, 36, who lives in Montreal before facing Fury, had suffered two stoppage losses in his previous five fights and was left open by missing a right hand.

Fury found more opportunities in Round 3, but was caught with a weighty left hook early in the fourth, which encouraged Makhmudov to go into attack mode. Fury then caught the Russian with several counter punches later in round 4 and took control after his jab in round 5.

Fury’s jab and footwork seemed to have somewhat incapacitated Makhmudov midway through the round as he landed a series of unanswered jabs in round 6. Makhmudov remained a threat, however, and landed two large right hands in round 7. Fury staggered Makhmudov with a sweet left hook in round 8 and a left uppercut in round 9.

In Round 11, Fury uncorked several elegant left uppercuts, and in Round 12 he repeatedly landed shots, but they lacked enough power to hurt his opponent and prevent the judges from having to make a decision.