A smiling Fury made his entrance in typical fashion – dancing onto the stage and playing to the crowd before crossing immediately to shake Makhmudov’s hand.
There has been little animosity between the pair during fight week. Fury even blew a kiss at his opponent during a promotional appearance earlier in the week.
The news conference itself felt at times like a rerun of the previous launch news conference when the fight was first revealed. Makhmudov rarely engaged in any back-and-forth despite the host’s attempts to spark a war of words.
Makhmudov spent most of the time glancing at his phone, drawing criticism from heavyweight great Lennox Lewis who was part of the TV broadcast.
The 36-year-old did address one unusual training method – wrestling a bear. “But I don’t want to try this anymore because it was so scary,” he added.
Eventually, Fury – whose record stands at 34 wins from 37 fights, with 24 knockouts, alongside two defeats and one draw – seized the spotlight.
He described himself as “speedy, skilful, handsome and destructive”.
“I’ve never lost my speed of reactions. I’ve still got it – 100%,” he added. “I’m looking for as good a performance as it can be after [nearly] 16 months out. I must have done 500 rounds of sparring to prepare.”
The ‘Gypsy King’ later wandered over to join the broadcast team, where he could be heard shouting: “I’m on top of the world, baby.”
Those close to the negotiations say the fight is not the biggest payday of Fury’s career – that honour remains his first bout with Ukranian Usyk – but the former heavyweight champion was keen to return to the ring for his own wellbeing.
Fury arrived wearing a custom suit branded with Netflix colours. The card is a significant moment for the streaming giant which – with its 325 million global subscribers – continues its move into boxing with its first show staged in the United Kingdom.
The platform has dipped into the sport through occasional blockbuster events rather than a regular schedule – most recently Anthony Joshua’s victory over Jake Paul in Miami, but also including the controversial bout between Paul and Mike Tyson, the historic meetings between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, and the super-fight between Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
Fury’s appearance also forms part of a wider entertainment offering that includes the second series of ‘At Home With the Furys’, which drops on Sunday and gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the heavyweight’s life outside of the ring.
For Netflix, the bigger prize could be the long-awaited showdown between Fury and Joshua – a fight years in the making but still one of the sport’s most lucrative possibilities.
Fury has said Joshua is the opponent he wants next, with Dublin’s Croke Park being touted as a possible venue in September.
