By Jake Tiernan: Andre Ward says Tyson Fury shouldn’t fight one of the MMA guys in his next contest in boxing. Fury has been linked to fighting against two non-boxers, Francis Ngannou & Jon Jones.
If Fury were to fight one of those guys inside the ring, it would be a bad look for him. Some feel that the 34-year-old Fury doesn’t care what the fans think of him, and he’ll stubbornly do whatever he pleases, especially if he starts receiving flak from people.
You have to wonder if Fury has his head on his shoulders now. Being incredibly wealthy gives Fury the freedom to do whatever he pleases, even if it’s self-defeating.
Fury’s popularity has taken a big hit with his failure to negotiate fights with Anthony Joshua & Oleksander Usyk, and the fans are upset with him, believing he ducked those guys by playing hardball with the negotiations. Sadly, Fury no longer seems capable of putting together fights against top boxers.
Ward says this is NOT the time for WBC heavyweight champion Fury to fight one of the fighters from another sport, as he feels it would not be a good move for his career.
“I don’t see Tyson fighting either one of those guys. I think Tyson will take a bag like Floyd [Mayweather] did. Still, I want to see what happens with him in this fighting,” said Andre Ward to Ariel Helwani’s Youtube channel, talking about Tyson Fury potentially fighting MMA fighters Francis Ngannou or Jon Jones next.
“He [Fury] seems to be having trouble getting a fight in the boxing ring, much less an MMA fighter. I don’t think he should do that. You’ve been off, and they’re clamoring for ‘What’s next?’
“I think the boxing world is upset with him right now. We hear you talk, but where’s the fight? So if he veered that way right now, I don’t think it would be the right time.
“Get a boxing fight with Usyk or Joshua, then go and fight one of those guys,” said Ward about Fury.
It would b a circus move for Fury, showing fans that he’s no longer focused on boxing and has stepped into the exhibition realm, which the retired Floyd Mayweather Jr has turned to because he’s too old and reluctant to mix it with real boxers.
Andre notes that Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) has talked about fighting different boxers but is failing to fight any of them. Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua are the two that Fury has failed to battle.
Fury hasn’t fought since December when he beat his old pal, 39-year-old British journeyman Derek Chisora and before that, he fought a similar Chisora-esque fighter in Dillian Whyte.
You argue that Fury’s decision to fight Chisora was a signal that he’s no longer taking his career seriously and has already semi-retired, turning to exhibition-level fights because that’s what that fight essentially was. Chisora had lost 3 out of his last 4 fights and did not deserve to fight for a world title against WBC champion Fury.
The ‘Gypsy King’ hasn’t had a serious opponent since his trilogy match with Deontay Wilder in 2021, and that was one in which he could have been knocked out in the fourth round when he was given what many fans felt was a slow count by the referee after being dropped hard.
