Tyson Fury’s comeback was inevitable – but brings a major twist

Comment: Fury’s U-turn on yet another retirement is not surprising, but one element is...

Guess who’s back, back again? Sigh. It’s a tired intro, sorry, but please be forgiving: we’re all tired. If you didn’t have a Tyson Fury return on your boxing bingo card for 2026, the only explanation can be that you’re very new to the sport. That’s okay, though; we have no interest in gatekeeping, we welcome casual fans of the sport. As a matter of fact, the casual fan is very much at the centre of Fury’s comeback, and the clue to that is the broadcaster of his next fight: streaming juggernaut Netflix.

On 11 April, Fury will take on Arslanbek Makhmudov in the Briton’s first fight since December 2024. One month after that outing, a second straight loss to Oleksandr Usyk, Fury addressed his phone camera to retire for the fifth time in his career, citing his frustration at the judging of those two clashes with the Ukrainian. Fury was fairly beaten by Usyk twice in 2024, as the latter became undisputed heavyweight champion and preserved his unbeaten record at the expense of Fury – and at the expense of the Gypsy King’s own undefeated run.

As to avoid seeming too snide, we’ll water Fury’s flowers: he is one of the most talented heavyweights of his generation, and the mental resilience he has shown to stave off his demons is beyond admirable. Fury, 37, is an inspiration to many, and when he finally does retire, that will mean more than his two reigns as world champion or any specific win in the ring.

But Fury is also boxing’s boy who cried wolf.

So, no one believed this latest retirement; it was simply a matter of when he would return, and against whom. We now have the answer to those questions, and we know the bout will take place in the UK and stream live on Netflix. A specific venue will be announced in due course.

Given much of the context above, it’s understandable that there’s not a major buzz around this week’s news, yet it is not without intrigue. And that intrigue centres largely on Netflix’s involvement in this fight.

Tyson Fury (left) during his most-recent fight, a second loss to Oleksandr Usyk (PA)

Yes, there are debates to be had about what will happen in the ring, and Makhmudov is a credible opponent, but if Fury is anywhere near his best, he should ease past the Russian. So, back to Netflix.

Fury is promoted by Queensberry, which signed a broadcast deal with DAZN in November 2024, a month before the heavyweight’s sequel with Usyk. However, the size and significance of Fury vs Usyk 1 and 2 meant a deal was struck to broadcast the fights on Sky Sports and TNT, as well as DAZN, to reach the biggest audience possible.

Fury’s retirement is not believed to have negated his promotional or broadcast deals, yet there was no reference to Queensberry or DAZN in Wednesday’s press release around his next fight. Instead, the statement was heavy on Netflix as the broadcaster and The Ring magazine as the promoter.

Queensberry boss Frank Warren tweeted about Fury vs Makhmudov and posted an Instagram story about it, as did the official Queensberry page, but Warren’s specific involvement is unclear.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Fury with promoter Frank Warren, head of Queensberry Promotions (Getty)

It was made no clearer by an interview on TalkSport, in which he addressed the Netflix element by saying: “That’s been... that’s sort of out of my hands, as such. That’s nothing to do with me. That deal was done with the actual Ring people. They paid the bill on that.” The Ring is owned by Saudi matchmaker Turki Alalshikh, who has worked with Warren in the past but more recently with Netflix, as the streaming platform’s presence in boxing has passed the year mark.

So, while Netflix’s involvement is surprising, perhaps it should not be too shocking. Further to the above, the company released the docuseries At Home with the Furys in 2023, and a second season is in production.

Nevertheless, Netflix has thus far focused on massive, if bewildering, fights: a 58-year-old Mike Tyson taking on influencer Jake Paul in 2024; Paul’s clash with Anthony Joshua last December; and the much more reasonable (but still contrived) undisputed title clash between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford in September. All three events did massive numbers for Netflix, with tens of millions of viewers reportedly watching each fight.

But with that in mind, the move to broadcast Fury’s comeback still feels slightly odd. Fury vs Makhmudov as a match-up is far from mouthwatering, and even the significance of Fury’s return is not seismic, as laid out above.

Anthony Joshua’s most recent fight also took place on Netflix (Getty)

Of course, there could be a fairly obvious explanation: Netflix might not see this fight as a way of building on its past work with Fury; it might view it as a building block for Fury vs Joshua.

That fight was already known to be in the works for 2026, and Joshua called out Fury after stopping Paul in December, but plans were complicated when “AJ” was involved in a car crash just days after facing the YouTuber. Two of Joshua’s team members died in that accident in Nigeria, and many wondered if the 36-year-old would ever box again.

But Joshua is back in training, meaning a long-awaited, all-British showdown with Fury cannot be ruled out. And for all of DAZN, TNT, and Sky’s efforts in recent years, one sentiment has been swelling since Netflix arrived in the sport: it is the only platform big enough to contain Fury vs Joshua.