Russian heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov has been thrown into the mix to face former two-time heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, who will return later this year, having been out of action since losing back-to-back against Oleksandr Usyk just over a year ago.
Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs) has reignited his career with a first-round knockout against Ricardo Brown, followed by a comfortable unanimous decision on away soil to Dave Allen. The towering Chechen’s future looked bleak since losing by stoppage to Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello in quick succession, but he finds himself in line to lock horns with one of the biggest cash cows in the sport.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren said in a recent interview with BoxNation that he would “agree” that Makhmudov would be the “right type of opponent” for him to come back from after another short retirement.
“I was more happy with the way he beat Dave Allen,” Makhmudov’s promoter, Camille Estephan, said exclusively to FightsATW.com. “We were very confident going into the fight. Dave is a tough guy, oh my God, he was so tough in that fight! Maybe a bit tough. Makhmudov showed that he can box. Obviously, he has been used to depending on the power in his right hand, and he fell in love with it. It became his strategy rather than a tool.
“We were and have been working very hard to convince him otherwise, so that finally he could show everyone that he can box. Hopefully, we can seize this moment and capture another big fight for him soon.”
The British media took to a shining Makhmudov on his visit to Sheffield, with one outlet jokingly calling him “a Bond villain” in the pre-fight build-up.
“The great thing that happened in this fight with Allen was that at the same time he became a celebrity in England,” Estephan said in response to a fight with Fury. “The fans loved him. That has definitely added to help create talk of these big fights in the heavyweight scene in the UK with all these big names that he can fight. It’s not far-fetched to say that he could fight Tyson Fury in the near future.”
Estephan’s promotion Eye of the Tiger did have an opportunity to part with Makhmudov following a disastrous eight-round stoppage victory against Italy’s Vianello in his adopted home of Quebec on August 17, 2024. However, following eight years in Montreal with trainer Marc Ramsay, Makhmudov and Estephan will have a crack at the big-time once again.
“We expected big things from him,” Estephan added, “because we know that the qualities he has are sometimes insurmountable for some fighters, but styles make fights. He had some tutoring, but it’s a process. A guy who can box at six foot six and is 260 pounds and who can punch a hole in the wall, you know, he’s a very dangerous man.
“For sure, we were concerned [after the loss to Vianello], but we didn’t give up on him, and he didn’t give up on us, and we worked very hard to bring him back, and we did. Prior to Allen, he beat an Olympian; there was risk in that fight. It was a good win, and it placed him in a good position to face Allen in the UK. Sometimes you take a step back to take ten forward. That seems to be the case in this one.”
Fury has been incredibly active on social media, posting footage of him training and discussing his return to the ring at some point this year. Makhmudov is currently ranked in sixth place by the WBA.
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