Fury retired after successive defeats by former undisputed heavyweight champion Usyk.

The 37-year-old, who has 34 wins in 37 fights including one draw, was in vintage form at his first news conference since announcing his return on Tuesday in London.

He tickled his opponent Makhmudov during their face-off and said he wanted to “make boxing great again”.

Fury intends to win a world title during his comeback and dismissed claims he might struggle to sell 60,000 tickets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium alongside the unheralded Makhmudov.

The Morecambe fighter spent two-and-a-half years out of the ring in his twenties because of a doping ban and mental health problems, but returned in 2018 after losing over 50kg and became world champion again in 2020.

“I’m 37 years old, been inactive 16 months, which is a massive factor,” he said.

“I did it before with three years out the ring but I was only 29. Now I’m an older person, a pensioner really.”

He added: “I bring the X factor to this game and there’s nobody else alive today that can and bring more X factor to boxing than Tyson Fury.”