Hughie Fury makes his return after a two-and-a-half-year absence tonight and believes that he will finally be able to show exactly what he is capable of. 

The 29-year-old has been plagued by illness throughout his career. Back in 2016, his father and trainer, Peter Fury, claimed that his son had only been operating at about 30 per cent of his capabilities due to a skin condition which affected his immune system, causing severe fatigue. He has spent the past couple of years dealing with the effects of long Covid.

Fury, 26-3 (15 KOs), is now approaching full fitness for the first time in years and is aiming to make up for lost time. After boxing Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko on tonight’s GBM show in Rotherham he will appear on the undercard of the world welterweight title fight between Lauren Price and Jessica McCaskill in Cardiff on May 11.

“The battle has been outside the ring. This is the easy bit. This is what I love to do. The goal is to get to the top, this is the dream that I’ve never given up on. Now, we’re starting back and I’m full of joy,” he said.

“There’s always worries and doubts in your mind [that he may have been forced to retire] but there’s also a belief inside that this is what I’m meant to do. I’m meant to get to the top. I don’t care about money. I care about legacy and that’s the dream I’m going to follow.”

Fury looked to be building momentum before ill health bough his career to a shuddering halt, reeling off solid wins against Pavel Sour, Mariusz Wach and Christian Hammer.

Time is on Fury’s side. In 2017 he lost a majority decision to Joseph Parker in a WBO title fight and was then beaten by Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin but the heavyweight division remains the land of opportunity.

In time, Fury will be desperate to prove that he is capable of succeeding at the highest level but – for the time being – he is just happy to be back in the ring. 

“I’ve had all the learning fights. Now I’m finally coming into myself and it’s time to start getting the rust off and getting back into these big fights,” he said.

“I’m healthy, that’s the main thing. Activity is the main thing for me. If I could fight every week if I could. I want to get as many fights as I can and be active.”