To be or not to be: AJ next for fistic thoroughbred Fury?

We had the Grand National on Saturday, the world’s most famous horse race. Aintree was awash with men in moody suits and women with questionable sun tans, all out to have a good time and back a few winners.

It's an historic race that has been known to produce emotional narratives, fairytale success stories, heartbreaking hard luck tales as well as giving us some of the greats of the equine game in horses like Red Rum and Tiger Roll.

We are told a punter on course on Saturday had £100,000 on eventual winner I am Maximus at 8/1.

To get paid out on that type of bets these days - online anyway - bookies want bank statements, tax returns, inside leg measurements, your horoscope for the week and a urine test.

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In terms of sporting drama, the Grand National certainly delivered, and a few hours later down in north London we had The Gypsy King Stakes - the latest outing in the career of fistic thoroughbred Tyson Fury.

On Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Fury boxed Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Fury’s career - if it were a horse race - would certainly not be a 5f sprint in the sunshine at Royal Ascot. It would be a Gold Cup ran in wild conditions at Cheltenham, a dramatic battle where the horse looked cooked at halfway only to keep finding and eventually get it done amid scenes of pure joy from connections.

He went off as a 2/9 betting jolly against Makhmudov, which for me confirms the big man from Morecombe is now very much in the winter of his career. Just a few short years ago - against this calibre of foe - Fury might have been 1/33 or 1/50 on in the pre-fight betting.

At the age of 37 some feel Fury should be retired already, put out to grass and enjoying the spoils of a Hall-of-Fame career.

And yet - against all logic, odds, and conventional training manuals - he keeps on winning.

How did Fury perform against Makhmudov?

At his best, Fury was a thunderous mix of ability and flamboyance. There were flashes of that old ability on Saturday night, the rapier jab and some brilliantly brutal inside work. Give Tyson his due.

He put in a relatively busy 12 rounds - after 16 months of inactivity - against a limited but risky opponent. His cardio was excellent, and his punch accuracy and variety were very good.

On paper Makhmudov was a bit of a risk as he had momentum after that Dave Allen win. But some perspective is needed.

Makhmudov was a huge Bond villain-type cherry picked for Fury to look superb against. Fury’s opponent fights in straight lines and was a step or two slower than ‘The Gypsy King’.

Makhmudov did well for two rounds with his uncouth attacks, but Fury soon figured him out and took over.

Fury getting the ‘W’ was entirely expected. It’s his next move that we are not so sure about.

Afterwards he publicly invited Anthony Joshua to fight him next while stood in the ring.

These two have been linked to each other for a decade. Speaking honestly, from a sporting spectacle it is a fight that should have happened five years ago but if they get it on and it winds up being a great fight, it won't matter that it happened late in their respective careers.

A good fight is all people want at the end of the day. However, despite Fury’s goading AJ sat in his seat motionless, refusing to confirm or deny he would dance with the Gypsy King next.

The heavyweight division is in a state of flux

The last few weeks have certainly underlined that boxing’s heavyweight division is in a state of flux right now.

Oleksandr Usyk is the lineal king despite no longer being the undisputed champion.

Outside of Usyk the division's future looks like a hybrid mix of still relevant veteran superstars - such as Deontay Wilder, Joshua and Fury – and a new generation vying to replace them. That new generation includes Moses Itauma, Agit Kabayel and Fabio Wardley.

Half a decade ago the heavyweight division revolved around three towering presences: Fury, the Gypsy conjurer with a taste for chaos, Wilder, the wiry-legged KO puncher and Joshua, the sculpted standard-bearer of modern professionalism. Between that trio, they gave the division shape, narrative, and frequent bouts of high theatre.

Now, time - boxing’s longest serving unbeaten contender - has begun to circle Messrs Fury, Wilder and Joshua with quiet intent.

I don’t blame AJ for not diving into the ring afterwards in Tottenham and announcing the fight.

He is facing uncertainty after a 2024 knockout loss to Daniel Dubois and extreme personal tragedy in the last six months. If he wants a tune up himself before committing to the biggest fight in British boxing, that that is understandable and perfectly acceptable.

I honestly feel that this era will one day go down as one of the best eras in heavyweight history, especially if Fury and AJ make good on their promise to have a row later this year.

For boxing, after all, has always been at its most compelling not when men seem invincible, but when they don’t. The changing of the guard is rarely graceful. It is often a messy, painful, half-finished business conducted in the harsh light of expectation and the harsher reality of time.

‘Sport of Kings’ is a nickname primarily used for horse racing, but it also absolutely applies to the noble art.

Both racing and boxing persist as reminders that authority – however richly dressed – is never absolute. A champion can be undone by a single clean shot. A favourite can falter over a hurdle with the race at his mercy. In the ring and on the track – sovereignty is always on trial.

So, we watch on with intrigue as the old kings adjust their crowns and the young princes rehearse their claims to heavyweight nobility. As long as the big fights continue to be made in boxing’s blue-riband division, the sport will continue to thrive and remain an attraction for millions of us fight fans around the world.

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