Light and lean Fury happy to be 'young fresh hunter' again
Tyson Fury says he took his undefeated record "for granted" as the British heavyweight appeared lean and sharp before Saturday's bout with Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The 37-year-old - returning to the ring after two consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024 - weighed in at 19st 2lb (122kg), three pounds heavier than his Russian opponent. Fury briefly retired after suffering the first losses of his career to Usyk in Saudi Arabia, but outlined his desire to become a three-time world champion.
"Whoever has the belts I want to get them back. I was undefeated for 17 years and took it for granted," he said at Friday's weigh-in in London. "I had two losses in a row and I'm not the hunted now but I'm the hunter.
It feels great to be the young fresh hunter again. "I want to make a statement, so I've come in nice and light and lean. " Fury - who had the infamous 11-minute and 20-second stare down with Usyk before their second fight 16 months ago - shared just a short seven-second face-off with Makhmudov, before the 36-year-old left the stage.
Fury unlikely to be world champion again - Wardley Fury was in the same upbeat mood he has shown all week - making time for fans outside beforehand, laughing and joking with the media, and strolling out to Eminem's 'Without Me' with the line "guess who's back? " blasting over the speakers. But the focus soon turned to the scales, with weight a talking point throughout the Morecambe fighter's career.
He was a career-heaviest 20st 1lb (127kg) - although fully clothed - for his rematch with Usyk in December 2024, while during his hiatus from boxing between 2016 and 2018 he ballooned to around 28st (178kg) amid personal struggles. Fury - who has spent his training camp in Pattaya, Thailand - weighed the same as he did for his last fight in the United Kingdom in December 2022 when he beat fellow Briton Derek Chisora. "It's a decent, comfortable, happy weight for Fury.