The former heavyweight champion has been struck with fighting fever once again and will return from a fifth retirement to face Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Netflix will stream Fury-Makhmudov as the main event of a card presented by The Ring.

Fury, 37, will fight for the first time since losing a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024. And if his words end up holding weight, fight fans will be able to watch Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) for years to come.

“It’s been an unbelievable year away, but all of that becomes a bit boring after a while, and here I am, back at work,” Fury told The Ring. “I’m very happy and can’t wait to put on a show. I’m in good spirits. I’m deeply rooted and invested in the sport. I don’t think that will ever go away, even when you’re 60. Probably [I’ll be fighting into my 40s]. Roberto Duran did, competitively. Who knows? I don’t think my family will like that, but at the end of the day, if you do something you love, you don’t work a day in your life.

“I’m doing it for the love of the game. This makes me tick. Yeah, the money is good, too. I love training, and I love fighting, and that’s why I’m back at 37 years old. The great Archie Moore was defending his title well into his 40s ... if you’re a fighter, you’re a fighter, and I have proved many times that I am the fighter that I say I am.”

If Fury gets past Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs), a long-anticipated bout against fellow Brit Anthony Joshua could be next, if Joshua decides to continue his career after surviving a fatal car crash that killed two of his friends in December.

“I have a dangerous man in front of me [in Makhmudov] who’s every bit as dangerous as Anthony Joshua,” Fury said. “Probably a bigger puncher, I’m not sure. But equally as tough. I have a very dangerous task ahead and I have to be very careful and do my best, or else I’ll get knocked out.”

During press conference Monday in London, Fury elaborated on why he’s lacing up the gloves once again.

“I suppose the biggest turning point in this comeback, for me, was a tragedy that happened with Anthony Joshua,” Fury said. “I was on holiday with my family in Thailand for Christmas, just to get away from the rain, and then I heard all that bad news that’s gone on and I thought, ‘You know what? Life is very, very short and very precious and very fragile and anything could happen at any given moment and you should never put things off until tomorrow or next year or next week because tomorrow is not promised to nobody.’

“I came back for one reason only and that's to make boxing great again. Since I retired for the fifth time over a year ago, boxing for me has gone on a downward slope. It’s become quite boring and boxing is at its maximum potential when Tyson Fury’s actively fighting … so believe it and I’m coming back to make boxing great again.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.