MAKHMUDOV'S MADNESS: DID HE REALLY THINK HE BEAT FURY?

Well, strike me down with a feather! Artur Makhmudov, the 'Volcano', has been spouting off about how he scored Tyson Fury's last outing. And believe it or not, the big man reckons he didn't lose. You heard that right. He's apparently gone through the tape, round by round, and come to the conclusion that he was the rightful victor. It's a proper head-scratcher, this. Most of us watching, ringside or on the telly, saw a pretty dominant performance from the Gypsy King. Fury, for all his showboating, usually gets the job done with a clinical edge. To suggest Makhmudov, a good fighter no doubt, somehow outpointed him is a bold claim, to put it mildly. It smacks a bit of delusion, doesn't it? You've got to respect a fighter's self-belief, but there's a line between confidence and outright fantasy. Perhaps he's trying to talk himself into a future clash, stirring the pot, as they say. Or maybe he just sees the sweet science through a very different lens to the rest of us. Whatever the reason, it's certainly got tongues wagging. But let's be honest, the scorecards told a different story, and the history books won't be rewritten on the back of Makhmudov's personal tally. The lads who actually scored it saw what they saw. And it wasn't a win for the Volcano, not by a long shot. He needs to get back on the cobbles and earn his shot, not just claim it.