The Russian heavyweight is the Gypsy King's opponent for his return to the ring on Saturday (11.04.26) after 16 months away and has vowed to "do everything" to pull off a shock against the former world champion.

Makhmudov told The Guardian newspaper: "I don’t know how I will beat [Fury] but of course I believe I will win. I invest a lot of my time [in training] and I believe this is a good fight for me. I will do everything to win, inshallah, so that’s why you cannot miss this fight."

The boxer feels that taking on Fury will be light work considering he once brawled with a bear in Moscow.

Makhmudov recalled: "It was in Russia. Moscow. Maybe one and [a] half year ago. I told my wife but my mother couldn’t understand. I said: ‘Listen, Mum, I have to go to Moscow as I am fighting a bear.’ My mother did not understand. She think I said I just go for meeting. But when she saw the video she said: ‘Are you crazy? Why you do that? You will never see your kids again if you do this.’"

He added: "It was very terrible to be honest. One of my friends made me an offer [to fight the bear]. He said: ‘Do you want to make crazy stuff?’ I said: ‘OK, I cannot refuse.’ But I will never do it again. The bear tried to bite me and it was a good thing that never happened."

There has been a respectful build-up to the bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Makhmudov feels that his and Fury's vast experience has contributed to this.

The 36-year-old fighter said: "I don’t know why but he has been very friendly.

"I appreciate it because the young generation look at us as a good example. He is 38 [in August]. It’s not like we are 25. We are fathers and that’s why he agrees with me – we can sell this fight without bad stuff."