Arslanbek Makhmudov claims Anthony Joshua 'promised a fight' before car crash

Arslanbek Makhmudov has revealed that he was promised a fight by Anthony Joshua before the Russian finalised a bout against Tyson Fury.

Fury and Makhmudov will fight on April 11 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Fury will be in action after 16 months on the sidelines. In his last two fights, he was defeated by Oleksandr Usyk, the only boxer to beat him in his career, after which the Briton announced his retirement from boxing last January.

Before the fight between Tyson Fury and Makhmudov was finalised, the Russian claimed Joshua had promised him a fight in 2026.

"This came suddenly," Makhmudov told talkSPORT about how his fight with Fury came about.

"Before this, I spoke with Anthony Joshua, and he gave me a promise to fight this year.

"But after he got into some trouble (a car accident in Nigeria). I asked my promoter about Anthony, and he said there probably won't be a fight right now.”

Anthony Joshua was involved in a crash on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway in Nigeria on December 29, killing his personal trainer, Latif "Latz" Ayodele and strength and conditioning coach Sina Ghami and injuring the boxer.

Arslanbek Makhmudov added that after Joshua's tragedy, I asked Tyson for a fight.

"So I said, 'If not, Joshua, I heard Tyson Fury is also looking for somebody to fight',” Makhmudov added.

"I said, 'Could you ask for me? I can fight with him, no problem'. He asked, and they approved it, and that is it.

"It was about perfect timing. They were looking for someone for a fight, and I had this information, I think I read it in the news. It makes sense because now the UK fans know me after my last fight [against Dave Allen]."

The Russian heavyweight boxer defeated British boxer Dave Allen last time out by a unanimous decision.