Right, Don McRae’s report has landed from an eventful evening in Tottenham – I’ll leave you to get stuck into it. Which is exactly what I will be doing. Thanks for following the action with me – be well!

Tyson Fury completed the first stage of his latest comeback when he outclassed Arslanbek Makhmudov in an uninspiring near shutout over 12 rounds late on Saturday night.

The former world heavyweight champion has retired on five previous occasions and, each time, he has been unable to resist the lure of a return to the ring. Now, even at the age of 37, time he was still too fast, fluid and accurate for the lumbering Makhmudov.

“Nobody likes southpaws,” says a backstage Conor Benn, who beat Regis Prograis by unanimous decision earlier in the chief support. “But we got the job done, came through a few scratches, but ultimately we keep it moving.

“It’s a different challenge from Eubank, it was my first fight against a former two-time world champion… ultimately I want my world title, I want my WBC belt by fighting [Ryan] Garcia next. Ryan, keep it warm for me.”

Benn has a few bumps and cuts from the head clashes but it was an entertaining, if not exactly punch-perfect, victory.

So what have we learned tonight? Tyson Fury at 37 is far from washed up – at least against a heavyweight as brave but limited as Arslanbek Makhmudov.

But it was strongly trailed all night that a superfight with Anthony Joshua would be announced in the ring post-bout. Fury roared his challenge in typical, understated style. Joshua looked a bit nettled – like he either didn’t enjoy the interaction or genuinely didn’t want to commit to anything until the contracts are signed – and AJ demurred, calling his British rival “a clout chaser”. So that was a little curious.

Hey, when did heavyweight boxing ever make any logical sense?

“Contracts are being sent over and you’ll probably see us in the ring next, more than likely,” accepts Anthony Joshua.

On whether he needs wants a warm-up fight, he tells Anna Woolhouse on Netflix: “Good question. That [Fury] could be a warm-up fight, based on what I saw tonight.”

“Lets give the fans what they want!” roars Tyson Fury post-fight in true WWE style, as he challenges Anthony Joshua to a fight. He may add “come on you shithouse” as AJ responds with an icy stare.

Joshua’s eyes burn a hole through Fury. “I’ve never had a problem getting in the ring with you. I punched you up when we were kids … but you don’t tell me what to do,” he responds.

“Don’t run from me!” Fury fires back. Hmm, they were strongly hinting this fight was going to be announced post-fight. But Joshua was playing coy.

120-108, 120-108, 119-109 … Tyson Fury lost only one round, on one scorecard, as he dominated Arslanbek Makhmudov. A comprehensive victory. If Makhmudov is nicknamed ‘The Lion’, then Fury was the lion-tamer, picking his punches by the end.

Total Tyson Fury dominance really, increasingly so as the fight went on and Fury fought himself into better shape and Arslanbek Makhmudov. Fury tries to usher Anthony Joshua into the ring but he’s not stepping up yet! We await the inevitable decision.

Round 12

Fury is up on his feet to start the final round, he looks sharper now than he did in round one as he’s shed the ring rust. He’s targeting Makhmudov’s body, looking to bring the hands down and make space for the uppercut to the noggin. Oh, a spiteful Fury hook with a minute to go! The crowd roars their approval but Makhmudov has been so durable tonight. Fury showboats to the finish, raises and fist and hugs Makhmudov, praising his game effort.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 119-109 Makhmudov)

Round 11

SugarHill Steward gives Tyson Fury a minor rocket, he wants his charge to get Makhmudov out of there. Fury lands another one-two and Makhmudov lumbers forwards. His slow haymakers are not connecting. A slower-paced round than the previous two … at least until the final 30 seconds when Fury crunches in an uppercut to the chest, fires a combination, and pins Makhmudov into the corner! One-way traffic.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 109-100 Makhmudov)

Round 10

Fury thumps to the body as the pair clinch. Makhmudov’s mouthpiece comes out after he swallows a mean one-two up close. The Russian is glad of the breather as the gumshield is put back in, but is greeted with a Fury right hand that crunches into his temple! He falls into Fury but just about takes it. Makhmudov gamely comes forward, Fury is sizing him up for an uppercut. Makhmudov survives the round but he’s eating some serious leather.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 99-91 Makhmudov)

Round 9

A reminder this is scheduled for 12 rounds. Will it get that far? Fury has landed over 100 punches as this round begins and while the majority are jabs, he’s increasingly upping the number of power shots. Fury is now the one pushing Makhmudov to the ropes. Fury’s jabs are piercing Makhmudov’s high guard. Makhmudov is showing plenty of guts in there but he’s getting outworked and pretty much outclassed.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 89-82 Makhmudov)

Round 8

Fury’s jab is a range-finder, a ramrod, a distraction; whatever he needs it to be. But after setting the table with the jab, the idea is you ‘eat’ with the other punches – and on cue Fury lands an uppercut and a big left hand to the head! That stiffens Makhmudov’s legs and has him in survival mode. Fury is going through the gears here and Makhmudov is tiring.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 79-73 Makhmudov)

Round 7

Makhmudov finally has some success, landing two clean shots that – if they don’t at all shake up Fury – at least get his respect. But, as Andre Ward correctly assesses on commentary, he’s smothering his own work and is unable to capitalise on what pockets of success he has. Fury lands a terrific uppercut! He’s been looking for that and it lands. Makhmudov took it well. Fury goes back to controlling everything with his jab.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 69-64 Makhmudov)

Round 6

Fury fires in some straight punches to body and head. He easily evades Makhmudov’s cumbersome blows. Anthony Joshua is filming at all on his phone at ringside. Why not, eh? Though this is hardly a classic, AJ. Makhmudov rumbles forward. In truth, Fury is rarely catching him clean but every now and then, he lands a crisp blow. Fury briefly goes southpaw, then switches back again.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 59-55 Makhmudov)

Round 5

Makhmudov is landing the odd flush punch. But they are one-offs. Fury, unsurprisingly at 37, doesn’t look as light on his feet as he once did. But he’s still quicker with his fists and Makhmudov’s output has slowed. It’s an untidy fight but in the final minute, Fury goes to work, thumping in some body shots, then he lands a clubbing left hook up close. They touch gloves at the end of the round.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 49-46 Makhmudov)

Round 4

Makhmudov clips Fury with a solid left hand! No sense Fury was rocked but it was a clean punch, the Russian is enthused and ups his work rate, launching hooks. Admittedly, they look like they’re coming through porridge, but you wouldn’t want to get caught by one. Fury grapples, counters, briefly gets Makhmudov in a headlock. A one-two right down the pipe from Fury lands flush on Makhmudov with a minute to go. It’s a bit of a roughhouse fight but Fury is busier and doing better work.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 39-37 Makhmudov)

Round 3

“I hurt him there,” Fury tells trainer SugarHill Steward in the corner between rounds. On the round’s start, he looks to use his feet, circling Makhmudov and firing out a more authoritative jab. Fury is headhunting, although Makhmudov’s body is a large target. The pair clinch in the last minute but Fury does start banging to the body now. Several times. Makhmudov is realising that in a mauling scrap up close, Fury is as comfortable as he is at range.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 29-28 Makhmudov)

Round 2

Makhmudov comes forward with more clubbing shots. He’s got a pawing jab but it’s pretty slow. Fury’s flicking jab is faster. He’s in centre ring, feinting, looking to counter ‘The Lion’. Makhmudov keeps charging Fury to the ropes but the two just clinch and grapple when Fury gets there. At the end of the round, Fury spins Makhmudov into the corner and lands some shots.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 10-9 Makhmudov (Fury 19-19 Makhmudov)

Round 1

Makhmudov, very similar dimensions to Fury, bulls forward. He lands one decent right hand. He has a host of first-round KOs – of his 19 KOs in 23 fights, the vast majority are early. Fury isn’t unsettled though, he flicks out some counters. He’s happy to back off, observe his opponent, start to get a read on his style. It is crude. In the final minute, Fury holds his feet a little more in centre ring and fires off some straight punches.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Fury 9-10 Makhmudov (Fury 9-10 Makhmudov)

A reminder that earlier, we were promised a huge announcement post-fight – and Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn are ringside at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. So, well, you do the maths. But first we have the small matter of Fury trying to earn a first win since 2023 first!

Michael Buffer is readying and rumbling.

If it was any normal boxer, you’d say crying during the ring entrance was a bad sign – shades of Oliver McCall. But of course Tyson Fury is not normal.

His mood switches like the wind and after shedding a tear for Hatton and having got rid of that emotion, he’s got a wide grin plastered over his face as he heads for the ring and the heavyweight contest up next!

Tyson Fury is in tears as he emerges, his ring entrance the promised tribute to Ricky Hatton. We get a blast of Blue Moon and Fury is in a sky blue and black robe to pay homage to his friend and the British boxing icon.

Arslanbek Makhmudov walks to the ring, looking focused. He has a strange quirk – almost Bill Goldberg-esque (dare I saw on the Guardian) – of twitching his muscular neck. It does not detract from his intimidating aura I must say.

Conor Benn, at 29, is eight years younger than Regis Prograis. He is also the bigger and much fresher man so there was little surprise in his clear points victory. But the best welterweights in the world will hardly be quaking after watching Benn tonight. Instead, I reckon they will jump at the chance of making a shedload of money by signing up to fight him.. At least to my slightly jaded eyes, Benn is not much more than a decent operator who is in supreme condition and can fight at a fair old lick.

The muted hum of the crowd throughout the fight suggested that they were not exactly blown away either.

And now for the big men…

Conor Benn gets the same score from all three judges: 98-92 for a unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis, who applauded the victor at the announcement.

Benn is bleeding from one of his heead-clash caused cuts, the gutsy Prograis is marked up from Benn’s fists. It was a pretty clear decision as Benn swept the second half of the contest after Prograis had his moments in the first five rounds. Cue the Sweet Caroline!

We await the decision but I suspect it’s a formality. Regis Prograis has never been stopped and you can see why, great toughness from the two-weight world champion who had his moments.

The head clashes, often a problem for an aggressive orthodox fighter against a southpaw, caused Conor Benn some cuts and moments of uncertainty. But he found a gameplan that worked, going to body and head with success.

Round 10

The final round! Benn pushes Prograis to the canvas and gets a ticking off from the referee. Prograis’ legs are looking pretty unsteady but he fires off a few right jabs to show Benn he’s still in there. Benn rotates the target, fists cocked, he’s desperate for a stoppage of course – but the distance may be against him. Yet another head clash! And Benn is bleeding once more. He’ll be marked up tomorrow but the greater punishment honestly came from Prograis’ head rather than his fists. The final bell and the two embrace.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 10-9 Prograis (Benn 98-92 Prograis)

Round 9

I have the same score as David Haye. Erm, is that ever a good sign? (We didn’t score the rounds the exact same way, for what it’s worth.) Anyway, the ninth round is more of the same: Benn with the combination punches, body and head. But he hasn’t found a shot to really shake up Prograis, despite his late-fight dominance. The American’s face is very marked up now but he’s incredibly game and bites down to survive the round. He’s looking weary.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 10-9 Prograis (Benn 88-83 Prograis)

Round 8

An aggressive start from Benn, unloading as he wants a stoppage inside the 10-round distance. The corner have done on a fine job on the cuts, they’re not a problem. Benn is throwing punches in bunches and while he’s getting caught with the odd one-punch counter coming in, there’s not enough on Prograis’ blows to slow down the man stalking him. Benn is twisting from the waist, trying to find the angles, another clear round.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 10-9 Prograis (Benn 78-74 Prograis)

Round 7

Prograis is sucking wind a bit as Benn bangs in the body shots. The head clashes, a problem against southpaws, have caused the cuts but to be fair to Benn he looks calm again now. The uppercut is working for Benn as he has found some variety at last. Prograis landed with the odd counter but the pace of this fight is against him. A big round for Benn.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 10-9 Prograis (Benn 68-65 Prograis)

Round 6

Benn is wide open for a Prograis left hand. That’s happened a few times and a bigger puncher – or just a bigger fighter than the natural light-welterweight Prograis – would have Benn in some bother here. Benn lands an uppercut, but now he’s cut over the other eye! Benn’s face is looking a bit of a mess. Prograis says “no” when Benn lands a shot as the two exchange verbals as well as blows. I actually think Benn edged that round, landing some good body punches, but he’s not looking comfortable in there.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 10-9 Prograis (Benn 58-56 Prograis)

Round 5

Benn looks to open up again. He’s outworking Prograis for spells but it’s a bit predictable and plenty of shots are hitting the American’s gloves. Prograis is catching Benn with some straight lefts. Now they’re swapping blows to the body! This fight is really catching fire and becoming a slugfest. I think Benn edged that on work rate but Prograis is putting in some eye-catching counters. Good entertainment.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 10-9 Prograis (Benn 48-47 Prograis)

Round 4

Benn comes out fast but Prograis surprises him slightly by coming forward for the first time and landing a few solid punches. And Benn has a cut over his right eye! I’m not sure if it was a punch or a head clash but Prograis definitely landed a few clean shots there. Benn, bleeding, is more tenative. He’s still firing off shots – and connecting – but he doesn’t look particularly comfortable.

Additional: the replays show a clash of heads caused the cut.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 9-10 Prograis (Benn 38-38 Prograis)

Round 3

Benn starts firing off his own jab, he’s boxing more now, rather than just looking to knock Prograis’ block off. Probably wise. He lands some jabs to the head. Prograis is looking a bit marked up as he dodges some blows but plenty more find their mark. Benn is setting a fast pace.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 10-9 Prograis (Benn 29-28 Prograis)

Round 2

Prograis seems to have recovered fine at the start of the second. But he’s still standing in the pocket and trading with Benn, which may be risky. That said, Benn is missing a lot in this round. Prograis touches down as he throws a shot, but it was clearly a slip. A slightly untidy round from Benn, Prograis landed the better punches, but how long can he keep it up?

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 9-10 Prograis (Benn 19-19 Prograis)

Round 1

Conor Benn on the attack in the first minute, looking to utilise his weight as the bigger man. Benn is on the offensive early on and he seems to stiffen Prograis’ legs a touch with one clubbing shot. Prograis might be best to avoid a firefight and the southpaw backs off and fires off with his job for the second half of the round. And Prograis’ knees buckle at the bell from a straight right! He was rocked there, the bell came at the perfect time.

Guardian’s unofficial score: Benn 10-9 Prograis (Benn 10-9 Prograis)

Conor Benn gets a good ovation from his home crowd, despite being a divisive figure to many in boxing. We’re about to hear the first bell in this 150lb contest!

It’s pretty cold out here in Tottenham tonight but at least the atmosphere is starting to heat up. The arena is around 80% full and a sign that the once magnetic power of Tyson Fury is just fading a little as, at various promotional events this week, they were reduced to plugging ticket availability. Clearly, the fact that Arslanbek Makhmudov is not a stellar name has contributed to Fury’s failure to sell out the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight. But time is also ticking for Fury and his latest return follows two narrow defeats in a row to the mighty Oleksandr Usyk.

Conor Benn v Regis Prograis is about to start. I’ve been close to Prograis over the years and was in his locker room for one of the great world title nights of his career. But Prograis is 37 now and this could be a hard night…

Conor Benn emerges in a black and gold robe with his father, Nigel, who you may be familiar with, over his shoulder. We get a full orchestra at the top of the ramp! Nothing spells terror like a harmony of strings.

Michael Buffer is in the ring and the veteran MC announces Regis Prograis, who is walking to the ring in a wonderfully elaborate mask. His nickname, Rougarou, is a sort of Cajun werewolf, so that’s one of the cooler/more original boxing monikers.

His song of choice is Stand by Me by Ben E King. I’ve heard more intimidating entrance music if we’re honest.

We await Conor Benn v Regis Prograis – which looks simple to predict on paper. Benn is younger, bigger and coming off a career-best win after dominating an admittedly shopworn Chris Eubank Jr. Prograis is a former two-time world champion and, if he was still the fighter who gave Josh Taylor a hell of a scrap in this city in 2019, we’d be sizing up a very different contest.

But at 37, Prograis appears diminished. He’s endured knockdowns and wobbles in losing two of his last three fights, and was at his best at 140lb. There’s even talk that the American is carrying an injury going into tonight.

Then again, it’s not all plain sailing for Benn who looked a tad drawn coming in at 150lb having fought the two Eubank contests at middleweight. Plus there’s all the distractions of his conscious uncoupling with Eddie Hearn and embrace of new promoters Zuffa. A case of Prograis winding back the clock or Benn earning a statement win? Let’s find out!

Anthony Joshua is ringside in Tottenham and Turki al-Sheikh, boxing’s Saudi powerbroker, is speaking on Netflix. He hints at “a big surprise” tonight and says that “we will announce the biggest fight in the history of England”.

Right, you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out what he means. So if all goes to plan tonight, we’ll be getting a Fury-Joshua post-fight face-off tonight. Unless Makhmudov can upset the odds.

Richard Riakporhe wins the British heavyweight title by stopping Jeamie ‘TKV’ Tshikeva. Riakporhe adds his name to the list of heavyweight danger men, the former cruiserweight displaying heavyweight pop as he dominated TKV.

We’ve had one heavyweight contest involving a Briton already: Frazer Clarke lost a majority decision to Australia’s Justis Huni. It’s a third defeat in his past four for the veteran Olympic bronze medallist Clarke – though he was in tough against Huni, who’s only loss came against Fabio Wardley in a bout he was winning handily before he was spectacularly stopped.

A close fight with one judge seeing it even probably isn’t the worst outcome for Clarke, who’s also suffered at the fists of the unbeaten Wardley. Huni confirms his standing as a decent heavyweight contender.

More elite-level pre-fight previewing: Donald McRae on the reasons behind Tyson Fury’s latest comeback. I encourage you to give it a read.

For me, it’s everything,” Fury said of boxing. “It’s everything that I love to do and it’s something that I’ll continue to do.” He then added, with aching simplicity: “It’s been a while and I’ve missed it.”

Arslanbek Makhmudov may look ferocious but Donald McRae found him to be very friendly when they sat down together. Unless, perhaps, you are a bear.

Although it does sound like he regrets that particularly contest. “It was very terrible to be honest,” Arslanbek told Don.

Welcome to Tyson Fury’s return to the ring after a 16-month absence, officially ending retirement number 1,247 (OK, it’s number five, but close enough). His opponent? The fearsome-looking Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov, although you suspect the real prize for Fury is victory setting up a long-awaited megafight with Anthony Joshua.

Not that victory is guaranteed at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Fury turns 38 in August, hasn’t won a fight since October 2023 and – while there’s no shame in two competitive points losses to Oleksandr Usyk – he’s probably no longer at the peak of his considerable powers. There’s always a danger with his age, wear and tear, and a previously less-than-spartan lifestyle outside of the ring that Fury might just turn up and discover he no longer has it.

As for the 36-year-old Makhmudov: it’s obvious why he’s been chosen. A whopping 6ft 6in, 265lb with the look of a James Bond henchman/Rocky villain/WWE monster heel (delete as applicable). Yet for all his solid amateur pedigree and a decent 21-2 (19 KOs) record, he’s a pretty straightforward boxer – and one who’s been stopped in two of his last five fights.

In his last outing, Makhmudov beat a Briton in Doncaster’s Dave Allen. But Fury is no Allen and the best version of ‘The Gypsy King’ would absolutely toy with Makhmudov. How much of that Fury is left, however, is a real point of intrigue on a card that also includes Conor Benn v Regis Prograis in a 150lb catchweight bout as Benn moves on from Chris Eubank Jr and his former promoter, Eddie Hearn.

There’s some good heavyweight scraps on the undercard as well but we’re expecting Benn v Prograis to begin around 8.55pm (BST), while the first bell for Fury v Makhmudov will probably be approx 10pm. Please follow along with us!