Fury announced his retirement at the end of 2024 after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, and last night he secured his 35th professional victory in front of a home crowd.
The Briton celebrated a convincing points win over Mahmudov in front of 54,331 spectators after 12 rounds in which he dominated. Two judges at ringside awarded the victory to Fury with scores of 120-108, while one judge scored it 119-109.
Immediately after the final bell, Fury leaned over the ropes and called Anthony Joshua into the ring.
Anthony Joshua just DECLINED to face off with Tyson Fury in the ring 😳 “You’re a clout chaser. You ain’t gonna tell me what to do. I’m the boss. You work for me.” 🥶 pic.twitter.com/fx3Jo07GuR
Joshua, who was watching the match from the front row, refused the invitation, which angered Fury.
"You're a big coward, do you want the fight or not? You won't escape me this time. This has been brewing for 10 years, let's finally fight," said Fury.
Joshua later gave a statement to Netflix, which is expected to organize the fight.
"Negotiations are just beginning. When the contracts are sent, we'll see. Our fight is very likely to happen. Let me remind you, he's the one who retired. I never retired. I'm the one who arranges big fights, I run the game, I'm a serious fighter, and I'm very powerful. When I hit Fury, I'll hurt him badly. Right now, I'm sorting out some things for my brothers and their families," said Joshua.