Tyson Fury’s next opponent relies in part on unconventional training methods – and has already lost to Germany’s best
Arslanbek Makhmudov wrestles with a bear. The Russian boxer and the animal repeatedly brace themselves against each other, then stare each other down.
The video clips of the unusual training session resurfaced on the internet ahead of the biggest fight of Machmudov’s career to date against superstar Tyson Fury. The fighter himself has no fond memories of the meeting.
“Are you crazy?”
“It was honestly awful. One of my friends offered it to me. He said: Do you want to do something crazy? I said: Okay, I can’t turn that down. But I’ll never do it again. The bear tried to bite me and it was good that it didn’t happen,“ said Makhmudov in an interview with the Guardian ahead of Saturday’s heavyweight clash with Fury in London.
The whole thing happened in Moscow ”maybe a year and a half ago”, said the 36-year-old. The action caused a lack of understanding in his family. “My mother didn’t understand. She thought I had said I was just going to a meeting. But when she saw the video, she said: Are you crazy? Why are you doing this? You will never see your children again if you do this,“ said Machmudow, who said he would ”not do something like this again”.
Outsider against Fury
The Canada-based Russian is the underdog against former world champion Fury, who is making his comeback after 476 days in retirement. Makhmudov faces the task with a mixture of respect and optimism. “I don’t know how I will beat him, but of course I think I will win. This guy is a legend, one of the best heavyweight boxers in history,” he said.
Makhmudov has won 21 of his 23 professional fights to date, 19 of them by knockout. He suffered one of his two defeats in December 2023 against Germany’s hopeful Agit Kabayel, who brought him to his knees with liver hooks in round four.
