The run of Boxing nights featuring the top names in the Heavyweight Division began last week at the O2 Arena in London when a really poor refereeing display overshadowed the Deontay Wilder-Derek Chisora main event.
Another poor judging day in the United Kingdom will not have gone down very well with the fans and it is certainly something that promoters will have noted when thinking about bringing the fighters to this part of the Boxing world.
It hurts local talent on the 'B' side of the card as Gully Powar found out, but he raised his profile and is going to get another big opportunity to become British Champion and then progress to the world level.
A rematch has been ordered, which is the least that Powar deserved, but he should have been given the right decision by judges who continue to make poor decisions in the UK.
The main event of the night saw Deontay Wilder perhaps set up a bout against Anthony Joshua- he looked better than he has, but Wilder still looks a long way past his best and so the next fight may have to be against one of the big names in the Division before retirement beckons.
It should be the last time we see Derek Chisora in the ring, but you just never know with Del Boy.
Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov
Almost sixteen months have passed since Tyson Fury was beaten for a second time by Oleksandr Usyk and soon announced his retirement from the sport.
Like the 'boy who cried wolf', no one believed this latest retirement would last much longer than previous ones announced by Fury.
He is back and still in denial about the results of the two fights with Usyk and so a third attempt at becoming Undisputed is the ambition- Tyson Fury believes he won both previous bouts, but it felt like he was a close loser in the first one and a much more comfortable second best in the rematch.
None of that really matters now and Tyson Fury is making a return with some big money fights still on the table.
With Usyk showing little appetite for a third fight, Fury's team are focused on a long-awaited contest against Anthony Joshua, which will still garner plenty of attention in the UK at the very least. Some have suggested that the teams are already speaking about a match up in Dublin, which would be something of a surprise, but before all of that, Tyson Fury has to make sure he looks good on Saturday.
That is not going to be easy for someone who has been out on the ring for the time that Fury has, nor when you consider his last three outings.
However, this is a big step down from Oleksandr Usyk and Fury looked completely out of shape when narrowly edging past Francis Ngannou in what should have been a very straight-forward exhibition style win.
Arslanbek Makhmudov had a big reputation until being battered into submission by Agit Kabayel and was also beaten by Guido Vianello eight months later.
He has not been acting nearly as menacingly as he had been before those defeats and wins over Ricardo Brown and Dave Allen are not the kind of results that suggest Makhmudov is ready for this kind of opponent.
As with any layoff, Tyson Fury may need some time to really get going in this one, but he is not the elusive puncher of old times and instead is likely going to plant his feet and unload.
There is no doubt that Arslanbek Makhmudov is there to be hit and Tyson Fury may be able to roll through the gears in the second half of this contest once the ring rust is shaken off a little bit. The opponent is one that has been broken down before and Fury is capable of doing the same here on his return with a late Stoppage perhaps the outcome to remind fans of his qualities and capabilities in the ring.
The chief support on the card is featuring Conor Benn as his new promoters drag Regis Prograis up to the 150 pound limit for this Ten Rounder.
It will be a real surprise if there are any rehydration clauses attached to this bout and so Benn is going to be a lot bigger in the ring.
The name value of Prograis is not as high as it once was, while rumours around his fitness ahead of this bout had swirled and suggested he was going to withdraw. Even Eddie Hearn has suggested Regis Prograis was not fit enough to fight, but the American has downplayed all of those reports.
Back to back defeats to Devin Haney and Jack Catterall suggested Regis Prograis' best days at the top were over, but he has been given this opportunity.
Unfortunately it feels like he has been brought over to be Stopped for the first time and Conor Benn may be able to get this one done before halfway, even if The Destroyer is still vastly overrated.
Two Heavyweight contests also feature on the undercard with fighters looking to either take the step up towards world level, or avoid falling too far from those levels.
In a crossroads bout, two fighters who have defeats to Fabio Wardley on the resume meet- Justis Huni has not fought since his loss to Wardley in June last year, while Frazer Clarke recovered from the wipeout defeat to the WBO World Champion in October 2024 by winning one fight before losing to Jeamie TKV.
Frazer Clarke looked completely lost in that defeat to TKV, especially in the latter stages when he was fortunate to avoid being Stopped.
The Australian opponent in this one has quick hands and had Fabio Wardley in all sorts of trouble before the latter found a special punch, but Justis Huni will feel he belongs at that level considering how far Wardley has progressed.
His speed can just wear down Frazer Clarke here and Justis Huni may be more ready to finish the fight when the opportunity comes up to just get himself moving back towards the very biggest names in the Division.
The aforementioned Jeamie TKV takes on Richard Riakporhe with the British Heavyweight Title on the line.
This is a closer contest than the layers feel, but Riakporhe may just have enough to edge past the Champion.
Jeamie TKV is tough, resilient and will come to fight, but The Midnight Train should have a bit too much quality in the exchanges in his third bout at Heavyweight. He is going to have to use some of the athleticism to avoid getting caught up in clinches and have the Champion wearing him down, but if Richard Riakporhe can do that, he may have the necessary quality and accuracy to force a Stoppage.
Earlier in the day, there is a card taking place in Japan involving a couple of veterans taking on home fighters.
Pedro Guevara has only been Stopped once in a fifty fight career, but the 36 year old Mexican is only a couple of fights removed since that blowout defeat to Bam Rodriguez.
Losing to a pound for pound superstar is one thing, but Pedro Guevara is taking on 3-0 Tomoya Tsuboi in this contest.
The 30 year old is on a fast track and he Stopped another veteran, Carlos Cuadras, in Eight Rounds back in November. That was only the second time that Cuadras had been Stopped in his long career and Tomoya Tsuboi may be able to ratchet up enough pressure to do the same to Pedro Guevara.
In the main event, Juan Francisco Estrada is looking for a second win in a row since his own loss to Bam Rodriguez, although the former World Champion put up a much sterner performance than Guevara managed.
He has been inactive in recent years, which is not ideal for the 35 year old, but Estrada is expected to have too much for Tenshin Nasukawa who was beaten for the first time in November.
Juan Francisco Estrada is still highly Ranked in the Bantamweight Division and he can set up a bout with Takuma Inoue by matching the Japanese fighter and also beating Nasukawa on the cards.
MY PICKS: Tyson Fury to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.00 Coral (1 Unit)
Conor Benn to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.20 William Hill (2 Units)
Justis Huni to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.83 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Richard Riakporhe to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.00 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Tomoya Tsuboi to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.30 William Hill (1 Unit)
Juan Francisco Estrada to Win @ 1.83 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Boxing 2026: 11-23, - 9.72 Units (51 Units Staked, - 19.06% Yield)
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