Tyson Fury has brought the retirement, that kept him out of action through the whole of last year, to an end.
He is expected to have his 38th professional fight in April. Fury craves a trilogy bout with Oleksandr Usyk, the only opponent to beat him in his professional career. A world title clash with new WBO heavyweight Fabio Wardley would also be richly appealing.
But contests of that level would most likely take place after a comeback-type contest in the first half of 2026.
Your Site considers the best options for Tyson Fury's next fight:
The Russian, based in Canada, is a strong heavyweight contender who has only lost to good quality opposition: Agit Kabayel, now the WBC Interim titlist, and Olympian Guido Vianello.
Those defeats however were stoppage losses.
Makhmudov though dominated Britain's popular Dave Allen in Sheffield in his most recent fight to reposition himself in the division.
The Mexican-American is a former unified world champion who staked out his place in boxing history when he defeated Anthony Joshua, a monumental upset at the time, at Madison Square Garden in 2019.
Later that same year Ruiz surrendered the WBA, WBO and IBF titles to Joshua in their rematch. He's only boxed three times since but he is an opponent Fury has called out on social media.
The controversial American failed drug tests when he was supposed to box Anthony Joshua. But after returning to the sport he has established himself as an international heavyweight gatekeeper. A big man, he gave Daniel Dubois a solid workout before eventually losing by stoppage. In his most recent bout Miller actually drew with Andy Ruiz over 12 rounds.
The 6ft 6in Croatian southpaw is not well known in the sport, but has amassed a 21-3 record, with 19 of those wins coming by knockout. And he does know Fury, the two have been sparring partners and there is potentially some ill-feeling between them - they were sparring when Fury picked up the cut that delayed his first fight with Usyk.
The young Australian would be a point of comparison between Fury and new world champion Wardley. Huni was soundly outboxing Wardley at Portman Road, the football stadium in the Briton's hometown, only for Wardley to take him out with a stunning one-punch finish late on, just when it seemed time was running out.
Speaking on the Toe2Toe podcast, boxing experts Barry Jones and Don Charles selected Makhmudov as the ideal comeback opponent for Fury.
"That's the most logical one for him to come back to. That would be the one," top trainer Charles said.
Former world champion Jones noted: "I think Makhmudov is stylistically made for him. A big guy who can punch of course, who's dangerous. But who runs out of ideas very quickly, is quite slow and will gas out if he's missing. And Fury can make you miss.
"Even this Fury, who stands in front of you, can make you miss. Because he does box with his hands down, he gives you the opportunity. There's always that fact that he could get tagged. But I think Makhmudov is the perfect fight for him."
