Despite only being a year apart in age, Fury and Makhmudov’s careers have followed very different paths.
Fury claimed the unified heavyweight title in 2015 by beating Wladimir Klitschko and then the WBC world title in 2020 when he beat Deontay Wilder.
The Briton has the better names on his record, having fought Usyk (twice), Derek Chisora (three times) and Dillian Whyte.
Makhmudov has a win over Dave Allen and Carlos Takam but has two losses in his career, to Guido Vianello and Agit Kabayel.
The Russian has stumbled when asked to step up to genuine contender level and was in truth a surprise opponent for Fury considering his lack of star quality and pedigree.
But he does have one advantage and that is activity. While Fury has sat on the sidelines for 15 months, Makhmudov fought twice in 2025 and 2024 and three times in 2023.
Fury is fighting in his 38th contest, while Makhmudov is in his 24th. There are a lot fewer miles on the clock for the away fighter, who has fought 69 rounds compared with Fury’s 254.
While he has fought far less impressive opponents, Makhmudov’s knockout rate is excellent at 90% while Fury’s is 71%.