Former multi-time world champion and current boxing analyst Andre Ward would love to see Tyson Fury face both Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou at some point, but he believes the boxing world needs him back in the squared circle with contenders first.
Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, recently signed with the PFL and is expected to take a boxing match prior to his promotional debut in 2024 — with Fury as an opponent “The Predator” would love to face. UFC President Dana White has since laid out a respectful challenge to Fury for a fight in the octagon with current heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones to determine the real “baddest man on the planet.”
Ward was asked about which matchup he would prefer to see, and gave his response to Ariel Helwani on Monday.
“Personally, I would like to see both,” Ward said on The MMA Hour. “I understand what Dana is doing. I mean, when I really think about it, I don’t feel as strong about it as MMA fans. I know what they’re saying. I follow MMA and I know it’s like, ‘Come on, Dana, like really? One minute you were saying this now you’re switching up.’
“So I get what Dana is doing, he’s a promoter, and in essence, he’s promoting his guy. But I respect Jon Jones’ fight game and I would like to see the [Jones vs.] Tyson Fury thing, or the Francis [fight].”
In April 2022, Fury stopped Dillian Whyte in the sixth round before announcing his retirement, then having a face-to-face in the ring with Ngannou. Fury ended those career-ending talks quickly and returned this past December to knock out Derek Chisora in the 10th round.
Since then, Fury has been publicly negotiating potential matchups on social media — including with Ngannou, Jones, and Oleksandr Usyk — but nothing has been signed, sealed, and delivered at this point.
While Ward would love to see Fury mix it up with the two most recent UFC heavyweight champs, he just doesn’t see it happening right now.
“I don’t see Tyson really fighting either one of those guys,” Ward explained. “I think Tyson will take a bag like Floyd did, but I think Tyson is really trying to figure this boxing thing out. I want to see what happens with him with this [next fight] because he seems to have trouble getting a fight in boxing, much less an MMA fight, and I don’t think right now Tyson Fury should do that.
“You’ve been off with boxing, the boxing world is a bit upset. They’re clamoring like, ‘Dude, what’s next? We hear you talk, but where’s the fight?’ If he took that, if he veered that way right now, I don’t think it’d be the right time. Get a boxing fight, Joshua, something like that, and then go fight one of those guys.”
Ngannou’s free agency has been one of the most discussed storylines in MMA since his decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022, with mixing in some boxing matchups being a sticking point for his negotiations.
Ward has seen how White has reacted to everything, seemingly trying to delegitimize his former champion at every turn since they officially parted ways. In the end, Ward can’t help but give praise to Ngannou and his team for how things played out for him.
“I like how Francis is handling this situation,” Ward said. “Any time a fighter, breaks from the norm or the mold, it’s always, ‘Oh, he’s crazy. ‘He wants too much money.’ It’s always a weird narrative, and Francis, man, he’s handled the situation – even with the failed deals that didn’t go through and the things that came out of that. He just stayed in the pocket and he ultimately got the deal that he wanted.
“So to me, all the stuff that Dana is doing is kind of white noise. That dude is getting ready to get paid. You may not like it. You can say whatever you want to say about him, but he’s going to get paid.”