Tyson Fury takes big pay cut as guaranteed purse emerges for Netflix fight
Tyson Fury will come out of retirement on Saturday night to take on Arslanbek Makhmudov in London
Tyson Fury will take a pay cut for his next fight(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
Tyson Fury will take a major pay cut when he steps back into the ring this weekend against Arslanbek Makhmudov. The British boxing icon called time on his career, for the fourth time, in January 2025 before deciding to don the gloves once again.
Fury, 37, is back in action at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Saturday to face the Russian challenger, 36. While the Netflix-broadcast fight is coming with all the usual fanfare a Fury fight drums up, the pay doesn’t reflect his usual purse, with the Gypsy King set to pocket £18.8million.
While no doubt still an eye-watering amount, it’s a steep drop off from the money he made in his last bout against Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, where the heavyweight reportedly banked around £75m.
In the other corner, Makhmudov is set to take home a career-high purse of around £2m. It’s a major boost for the Russian, who earned £260,000 for his win over Dave Allen in October 2025.
The purse will be a drop in the ocean for Fury, who is estimated to have a net worth of around £120m. A significant portion of his wealth comes from his 2024 fights, including a reported £81.2m for the first Usyk bout and £40m for his clash with Francis Ngannou.
The fight with Makhmudov is widely seen as a warm-up for a potential heavyweight showdown. Either the final fight in a trilogy with Usyk could be on the cards for Fury or the long-awaited face-off against Anthony Joshua.
Speaking in February about his return, Fury said: “The truth is, I came back for one reason only and that’s to make boxing great again. Since I retired, boxing has been on a downward slope.
“Boxing is better when Tyson Fury’s involved. With me, I brought the biggest streaming platform on Earth, Netflix. I bring a circus, I bring an entourage.”
Watch Fury vs Makhmudov with free Netflix subscription
Tyson Fury has come out of retirement to face Russian boxer Arslanbek Makhmudov in a heavyweight clash in London on April 11. The fight will stream live on Netflix, which fans can get for free with Sky’s £15 Essential TV bundle or £24 Ultimate TV bundle, the latter of which also includes HBO Max and Disney+.
Makhmudov is full of confidence, however. He told The Guardian: “I don’t know how I will beat (Fury), but of course I believe I will win. This guy, he is a legend, one of the best heavyweights in history.
“Tyson Fury is the professor of mind and boxing. A lot of boxing is mental and he is a master. But boxing is also spiritual. I am going to be strong, spiritual and smart.”
Fury won the unified heavyweight title in 2015 after beating Wladimir Klitschko. He added the WBC world title in 2020, when he beat Deontay Wilder and has fought names such as Derek Chisora and Usyk.
Makhmudov has defeated Allen and Carlos Takam, but has also lost to Guido Vianello and Agit Kabayel. That said, the Russian has fought four times in the past two years, whereas Fury is coming into the squared circle after being out of action for 15 months, perhaps giving Makhmudov a slight advantage.
Fury will face Makhmudov on Saturday in the 12-round bout, with the fight live on Netflix. The main card is set to get underway at 7pm, with Fury and his opponent expected to make their ring walks around 10.30pm.