Tyson Fury is set to fight Francis Ngannou in a crossover bout before heading into training to face fellow heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk.
In the eyes of many, that four-belt bout with the Ukrainian will be enough to cement Fury as the greatest heavyweight of a generation bar none.
Should he win that, a fight with Anthony Joshua is, pundits reckon, the last piece of the puzzle in the career of the Morecambe man.
However, he has recently said that he’s keen on sticking around for ten more fights, meaning he’d need to dip into the set of heavyweights who are considered ‘next up.’
One such man is Arslanbek Makhmudov, a Russian fighter with 16 knockouts from 17 wins. Despite being 34, Makhmudov is still considered an up-and-comer, having only fought ten round contests against lower level contenders.
Still, the knockout artist branded a ‘monster’ by fans has caught the eyes of the boxing public through aggressive, pummelling performances.
He’s next out on the undercard of Fury-Ngannou against hard-hitting Croatian, Agron Smakici, but could well find himself in with ‘The Gypsy King’ himself in the future.
Speaking to Boxing King Media, the Brit said it would be a no-effort win on his part.
“He’s Ar**hole-sniffer Makma-c**k. Listen, Arslanbek Makhmudov, when I get through all my fights that I need to, if he’s still around I’ll chop him up like a butcher’s block. Chop him up like piece of carcass with a big sharp knife on a butcher’s block.
No match for me. Just because he’s lifted some weights, he don’t mean a lot to me. Tougher they come. He’s half of me. Absolutely blitz him.”
Fury and Ngannou face off on October 28 in Saudi Arabia, marking the start of Riyadh Season – the same celebration that will see host his Usyk fight should all go to plan.