Carl Froch And Andrew Ward Slam Fury For Not Fighting Usyk – ‘Fans Already Upset'

Tyson Fury has been called out for not giving the fans what they want after his failure to agree to an undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk.

The ‘Gypsy King’s’ popularity has declined massively since his comeback from mental health struggles that culminated in him reclaiming the WBC title.

Three trilogy fights with Deontay Wilder thrust Fury to the forefront of the division, with two victories over Wilder and a mesmeric draw.

However, since then, the caliber of his opposition has been questioned. Fights with Dillian Whyte and an aging Dereck Chisora have been in contrast to Usyk, who has fought Anthony Joshua back-to-back.

Not only that, but the perception has been that Fury is the one responsible for the breakdown in negotiations. Usyk and Fury had been on course to face each other in April at Wembley Stadium.

The Ukrainian did make a series of concessions in order to make the fight happen. This was mostly seen when he publicly accepted a 70-30 split against him, even though he was the unified heavyweight champion bringing three belts.

So when talks broke down, the court of public opinion held Fury to account. And this has now extended to the boxing professionals, as both Carl Froch and Andre Ward have scrutinized Fury’s conduct.

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"I’m not just giving AJ stick, let’s give Tyson Fury some stick," he chuckled.

"He’s talking a good one at the minute and he’s talking up all these fights, but nothing’s happening.

"How serious is he about fighting Oleksandr Usyk?

"He’s making all the noise, but there’s nothing getting signed…

"It’s getting frustrating now, it’s getting annoying listening to Tyson Fury because we all wanna see Tyson Fury fight.

"And I’m not so sure how serious he is now about fighting.

"If he gets too out of shape and he’s out of the ring for too long, it gets past the point of no return and all of a sudden he’s gonna find himself in a hard fight against somebody who’s bang average.

"I think Fury would be too big for Usyk, but it’s gotta be an on-point Fury, it’s gotta be a Fury that’s 100 per cent on his game and fit for 12 rounds.

"He’s gonna have to be fit for 12 rounds because if Usyk decides to stay out of range and box and not engage, just jab his stomach and jab his arms and jab his chest, then take what he can when he’s in range – that could be a 12-round disaster for Tyson Fury.

"So I’m not so sure he jumps straight with him and that may be the reason why he priced himself out of it, because I think he did price himself out," Froch

When it came to Andre Ward, he had a different view on the matter. He called on the heavyweight champion to ignore the clamour surrounding a potential crossover fight with Francis Ngannoua and, more recently, Jon Jones to focus on facing boxers. 

This was on the grounds that Fury’s popularity had declined massively. It is not surprising, then, that the boxer has failed to find an opponent since his win over Chisora in December.

Aside from Usyk, potential fights with Andy Ruiz Jr., Zhilei Zhang and Joe Joyce all fell apart for different reasons.

Ruiz allegedly was asking for $20 million, thus pricing himself out. Meanwhile, Joyce and Zhang were not able to fight Fury due to their rematch following the former’s decision to exercise a rematch clause in light of his loss. 

But for all the obstacles that may be in his way, Ward warned Fury to do the right thing. 

"I think Tyson will take a bag like Floyd [Mayweather] did. Still, I want to see what happens with him in this fighting. 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. Fans Already Upset," Ward

Regardless of what Fury does next, the pressure is on him to perform. Anything other than a loss may be catastrophic as the Gypsy King is not getting any younger. Time will tell how his next move plays out. 

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