At the six-week mark of 2026, a dispiriting statistic circulated: in the UK, it had rained every single day of the year so far. And as another downpour drenched the pitch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tyson Fury will have surely yearned for spring more than most. After all, it is the season of rebirth, and it will take on another meaning when Fury renews his career for the fifth time.
On 11 April, Fury and Arslanbek Makhmudov will return to Tottenham for Fury’s first bout since December 2024, as he emerges from retirement yet again to fight on Netflix. First, though, the Briton and the Russian visited the stadium for a press conference on Monday, where Fury made numerous revelations. The “depressing” rain had driven him to Thailand to train; Anthony Joshua’s involvement in a tragic car crash had informed his decision to return to boxing; he will be without a coach as he prepares for Makhmudov; and he wishes to fight three times this year.
It was vintage Fury, veering from vulnerable to fanciful. But all in all, it was good to have him back. The 37-year-old’s energy was palpable as he spoke to reporters in a suite at Tottenham, sporting a bright blue waistcoat and a garish tie adorned with the Netflix logo. In one moment, he asked an interviewer to wrap things up with his dad, John, to eliminate distractions. Yet in another, he took a video call from old foe Derek Chisora, whose grinning face filled the phone screen of Fury’s manager.
Later in the day, Fury’s father paraded himself around the venue, propelling tirades at anyone who would listen. Former world champion Carl Froch, standing on a podium as a pundit, was the main target of John’s barbs. Froch, appearing to see John coming, had already told a member of his team to get a phone camera ready. Even columnist Steve Bunce had to quell John’s fury. “I’m your friend, John,” was Steve’s calm response to a, “What are you looking at?!” from the livid patriarch.
This was the more tiresome side to the Fury carnival, of course. Perhaps John craved gasps, but sighs and rolling eyes were all he got. When the press conference started, John was sitting next to his son, only to make an announcement within seconds that he had “made” his “point” and would be making way for Spencer Brown. John beckoned Fury’s manager out of the front row and up to the stage, where Brown should have been sitting all along.
