Fury dominates Makhmudov and calls out Joshua next

Tyson Fury marked his return to the heavyweight mix with a composed points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before immediately turning ringside to call out long-time rival Anthony Joshua.

The 37-year-old Briton – back after 15 months out – was not at his sharpest and it was far from vintage Fury, but he had enough ring IQ and technical control to outbox Makhmudov across 12 largely one-sided rounds.

Fury had to be watchful at times as Makhmudov did land occasional overhand rights, but the Russian was largely one-dimensional as Fury took a wide decision with scorecards of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109.

After the fight, Fury crossed the ring to speak to Joshua, who was on the other side of the apron, with organisers indicating the long-mooted showdown will be next.

A bout that should have happened in both men's primes, it now lingers as boxing's great what-if - but there remains clear appetite on both sides to finally make it a reality.

In his first fight since successive defeats to unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, Fury moves to 35 wins, two losses and one draw. For Makhmudov, 36, it was a third defeat in 24 fights.

More to follow.