TYSON FURY HITS 18ST 11LB TARGET WEIGHT FOR APRIL 11 COMEBACK
Tyson Fury hits his 263lb target weight for the April 11 Netflix comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov after a 13-month hiatus.
Tyson Fury says he’s already hit his target weight, even with weeks to go before his big comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
The ‘Gipsy King’ has been out in Thailand lately, kicking off his training camp and getting back in the groove. He walked away from boxing after dropping two straight fights to Oleksandr Usyk, but that retirement didn’t last long. Now he’s looking at a busy 2026, ready to jump right back in.
First up: Makhmudov on April 11. The fight might land in Manchester, but wherever it happens, Fury’s hyped. He’s been stoking the buzz, sharing peeks at his training, and letting fans watch his journey in real time.
So, when he stepped on the scales and saw the number, he didn’t hold back. “Already on weight nine weeks out,” he wrote. “I’m seriously going to smash Arslanbek Makhmudov.” The scale read 18 stone 11 pounds—263 pounds. That’s 18 pounds lighter than he weighed for his second fight with Usyk back in December 2024.
For that rematch, Fury came in at a career-high 281 pounds. He gave Usyk a real challenge, but the judges edged it to the Ukrainian. After those fights, people started raising eyebrows. Even in some training clips, fans and boxing folks worried about how heavy and sluggish he looked.
But now? You can tell he’s grinding. He’s pushing to get back in shape and take another shot at the heavyweight division.
The training setup looks different, too. Fury’s been working with Sugar Hill Steward during his losses to Usyk, but now, it sounds like his dad, John Fury, is stepping in to take charge.
John isn’t shy about it. He wants to make sure Tyson stops obsessing over the technical side and gets his body right. “I am going to be more involved this time,” he said. “And hear this, Tyson’s going to win the heavyweight championship for the third time, and you can bank your fucking money on that!
“He’s not in fantastic shape; that’s bull****. But he will be. Have another look at him, because when I go out in the next week, there will be no more of this internet bull****, every move on the internet. Head down, work, and get a body. Learn to move again. Learn to twist and be awkward. Herky-jerky.
“If it is fat, it matters. Anybody will tell you that. But listen, we know where we are going. I know where he went wrong. I know. And we are going to put it right.”
JAKE PAUL TARGETS FRANCIS NGANNOU FOR "UNCONSCIOUS" KNOCKOUT IN HEAVYWEIGHT CROSSOVER CLASH
Jake Paul labels Francis Ngannou a "terrible boxer" as the two MVP stars trade heated insults over a potential heavyweight bout.
Jake Paul thinks Francis Ngannou wouldn’t step into the ring with him because he’s scared of getting embarrassed. He’s been pretty vocal about it, even calling Ngannou “terrible” and claiming he’d knock him out.
Paul’s been out of action since Anthony Joshua knocked him out last December. That was a rough fight. He ended up in the hospital with a double jaw fracture; he needed titanium plates in his mouth and couldn’t eat anything solid for a week. And after cheering on his fiancée, Jutta Leerdam, at the Winter Olympics, he had to go through a second surgery in February. Honestly, that’s a lot for anyone.
He hasn’t said when he’ll return to boxing, but if he does, he wants a crossover bout with Ngannou. That’s his next target.
Ngannou’s been all over the map in the past couple of years. He left the UFC in 2023, joined the PFL, but only fought once before both sides decided to go their separate ways. In boxing, he faced Tyson Fury and Joshua, but that last fight didn’t go his way. Joshua knocked him out in the second round in Riyadh.
Even with Ngannou’s loss, Paul is itching for a fight. He told Sky Sports he’s got a long list of opponents but called out Ngannou specifically, saying, "He’s a terrible boxer. I want to go back up to heavyweight, knock him out as Joshua did, and render him unconscious. " Paul claims he lasted longer against Joshua and didn’t get knocked out cold, so he figures Ngannou’s avoiding him to dodge humiliation.
Ngannou wasn’t having any of it. After signing with Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions in March, Ngannou is gearing up for Netflix’s first MMA card on May 16, fighting Philipe Lins. Talking to TMZ, he said he wants to “slap” Paul, whether it’s in a boxing ring or in the cage: “I just feel like I need to give him some slaps. That’s how I feel, you know, like slapping him off.”
XANDER ZAYAS EMERGES AS TOP TARGET FOR JARON ENNIS’S NEXT MAJOR SHOWDOWN
Eddie Hearn confirms Jaron "Boots" Ennis is in talks to fight Xander Zayas in June after the Vergil Ortiz deal collapsed.
Eddie Hearn just shared that Jaron “Boots” Ennis’s next fight is around the corner, with talks heating up for a showdown with Xander Zayas.
After unifying the WBA and IBF welterweight belts against Eimantas Stanionis back in April 2025, Ennis jumped to 154 pounds. He took on Uisma Lima in his debut at that weight and sailed through, which got fans buzzing about a possible match with Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Matchroom and Golden Boy Promotions started negotiating for Ennis-Ortiz, but things got messy. Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, wasn’t happy with the purse Golden Boy offered, sparking tension between Ortiz and his promoter. Ortiz declared himself a free agent, filed a lawsuit against Golden Boy, and tried to strike a deal with Ennis on his own.
Golden Boy responded by getting a restraining order to stop Ortiz from negotiating elsewhere, putting those talks to bed. So Hearn began looking elsewhere, and now Zayas, who holds the WBA and WBO titles, is in the mix. With Top Rank announcing a broadcast partnership with DAZN and Matchroom already tied to DAZN, lining up Zayas vs Ennis looks easier than ever.
“We’re definitely talking,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “Honestly, we were so close to getting the Ortiz fight. We even started planning media tours; it was that far along. Now, with DAZN and Top Rank teaming up and our good relationship with Top Rank, we’ve started chatting with Xander Zayas. No media tour this time, but I think that fight could be just as good as the Ortiz one. Zayas is right there.”
He also mentioned Josh Kelly, the IBF champ at 154, saying it’s been a frustrating stretch for Ennis. “Boots was supposed to fight in April or May; now it’s looking like June. But I guarantee he’ll get a big fight next. By the end of next week, we’ll make a decision; Boots’s fight is imminent.”
If Zayas and Ennis do end up facing each other, that could leave Kelly without an opponent for his first title defence. After beating Bakhram Murtazaliev in January, Kelly said he wanted a unification bout with Zayas.
“Yeah, Kelly’s still up for it, and Zayas likes the idea too,” Hearn said. “But honestly, there’s a lot of money in Boots vs Zayas. Kelly could fight Boots as well, and that could happen. I’m fine with Kelly taking a voluntary defence; he just beat Murtazaliev. What more can you ask for? Murtazaliev, then Boots? That’s a tough path, so we’ll see. But Kelly is up for big fights as well. Conversations are ongoing, and it’s a top priority.”
