Tyson Fury has been advised to take a fight against Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua instead of facing an MMA heavyweight.
With a potential undisputed clash against Usyk being lined up for December in Saudi Arabia, Fury wants to take a warm-up fight in the time being and has teased crossover bouts against UFC champion Jon Jones and former titleholder Francis Ngannou in recent weeks.
The Brit has been struggling to find an opponent after targeted fights against Andy Ruiz Jr and Zhilei Zhang both fizzled out. Fury has now been advised by former two-weight world champion Andre Ward to only face Jones or Ngannou after taking a fight against an actual heavyweight boxer.
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“I don’t see Tyson fighting either one of those guys [Jones/Ngannou], I really don’t," Ward said on The MMA Hour. "I think Tyson is really trying to figure this boxing thing out. I want to see what happens with him in boxing. He seems to be having trouble getting a fight in the boxing ring, much less an MMA fighter."
Fury has been told to expect a big-money offer from Saudi Arabian promotion Skills Challenge to set up his undisputed fight against Usyk in December. Ward added of the Brit: "I think the boxing world is a bit 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 – Usyk or Joshua – then go and fight one of those guys.”
'The Gypsy King' claimed the UFC reached out to him about a "hybrid fight" against Jones, who has welcomed the idea of facing Fury in the ring despite UFC boss Dana White dismissing the idea. Ngannou admitted to being frustrated by his fight talks with Fury as the pair have now been going back and forth about a potential fight for well over a year.
"I have seen a lot of comments from Tyson Fury at this point of things I'm a little confused. It's always what I wanted," Ngannou told Mirror Fighting of the Fury fight. "But apparently Tyson Fury's pretty good at bouncing here and there, I don't know exactly. But I am here and I want to fight, whenever he really wants it I'm here. It's been like three years that we've been going back-and-forth on social media so I would be very happy to take the fight."
