Fury vs Makhmudov: David Haye, Anthony Joshua & Lennox Lewis react to Gypsy King’s win

Former world heavyweight champion David Haye described Tyson Fury’s win over Arslanbek Makhmudov in his comeback fight as an “optimal performance”.

Fury returned to the ring after a 15-month absence to secure a unanimous decision victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It was not a vintage display, but Haye believed it was a good return considering the ring rust Fury could have been dealing with.

“Fury did exactly what he needed to do,” Haye told Netflix.

“That was the optimal performance for him. If he could pick the type of performance to put forward, it would be exactly that.

“He took all his tools out of the box and polished them up.”

Retired multiple weight world champion Andre Ward agreed with Haye’s assessment, downplaying suggestions was a soft reintroduction for Fury.

“Some will say Makhmudov is limited, but he’s good enough,” Ward said.

“You can’t take away from what you’ve seen from Tyson Fury offensively and defensively tonight.”

Four-time world champion Carl Froch said Fury “boxed well” and taking zero damage will be a positive for the 37-year-old.

“He’s been out the ring for [nearly] 16 months and he put in a 12-round performance at a good pace,” Froch said.

“The first couple of rounds were close, but then he took over against a dangerous puncher.

“He got hit with a couple of little shots, but you can see by his face he’s not marked up.”