Tyson Fury marked his return to the heavyweight mix with a composed points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before immediately turning ringside to call out long-time rival Anthony Joshua.

The 37-year-old Briton – back after 15 months out – was not at his sharpest and it was far from vintage Fury, but he had enough ring IQ and technical control to outbox Makhmudov across 12 largely one-sided rounds.

Fury had to be watchful at times as Makhmudov did land occasional overhand rights, but the Russian was largely one-dimensional as Fury took a wide decision with scorecards of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109.

After the fight, Fury crossed the ring to speak with long-time rival Joshua, who was talking to him from the other side of the apron, with organisers indicating the long-mooted showdown will be next.

“Let’s give the fight fans what they want. Do not run from me this time. Ten years in the making. Let’s dance,” Fury said.

Joshua declined to commit, sitting back in his chair before calmly replying: “I punched you up when we were kids and I’ll punch you up again.

“You aren’t going to tell me what to do, I’ve been chasing you for 10 years. I’m the boss, you work for me. I’m the landlord. You work for me.”

A bout that should have happened in both men’s primes, it now lingers as boxing’s great what-if – but it appears it may finally be made a reality.

In his first fight since successive defeats to unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, Fury moves to 35 wins, two losses and one draw. For Makhmudov, 36, it is a third defeat in 24 fights.