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Tyson Fury marked his return to the heavyweight mix with a composed points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before immediately turning ringside to call out long-time rival Anthony Joshua.
The 37-year-old Briton – back after 15 months out – was not at his sharpest and it was far from vintage Fury, but he had enough ring IQ and technical control to outbox Makhmudov across 12 largely one-sided rounds.
Fury had to be watchful at times as Makhmudov did land occasional overhand rights, but the Russian was largely one-dimensional as Fury took a wide decision with scorecards of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109.
After the fight, Fury crossed the ring to speak to Joshua, who was on the other side of the apron, with organisers indicating the long-mooted showdown will be next.
A bout that should have happened in both men's primes, it now lingers as boxing's great what-if - but there remains clear appetite on both sides to finally make it a reality.
In his first fight since successive defeats to unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, Fury moves to 35 wins, two losses and one draw. For Makhmudov, 36, it was a third defeat in 24 fights.
