The 64,000-seater stadium is expected to be confirmed at Monday’s launch press conference but, at the time of this writing, the British Boxing Board of Control had not received confirmation regarding where the contest will be held.
Fury, 34-2-1 (24 KOs), will have good memories of the soccer stadium. It was there, in December 2022, that Fury last won convincingly when he pummelled Derek Chisora into submission after 10 one-sided rounds. Following that contest, Fury sleepwalked through 10 sessions with debutant Francis Ngannou, ultimately nicking the verdict in October 2023, before losing two decisions to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024.
After the second loss to the Ukrainian, Fury announced his latest retirement but struggled to adjust to civilian life and, predictably, declared his intention to return at the beginning of this year.
In Makhmudov, 21-2 (19 KOs), he encounters a hard-hitting Russian who boosted his profile in Britain last October when he outpointed the plucky Dave Allen over 12 rounds. In the 36-year-old’s biggest tests, however, he has been found wanting; Agit Kabayel took him apart in four rounds at the end of 2023 and he was left battered and bruised when stopped in eight by Guido Vianello the following year.