Tyson Fury explains why he will ‘probably’ fight Jon Jones instead of Oleksandr Usyk next
Fury will box ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou in October, and he has his eyes set on the reigning UFC heavyweight champion next
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Tyson Fury has doubled down on his claim that he wants to fight UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones next, after taking on Francis Ngannou in October.
Fury will box former UFC champion Ngannou in Saudi Arabia next month, though the Briton’s WBC title will not be on the line.
Some boxing fans still hope that Fury will fight unified champion Oleksandr Usyk next, but the “Gypsy King” has said he is more interested in facing Jones, who succeeded Ngannou as UFC champion after the Cameroonian left the UFC in January.
“Nope, I am not interested in fighting Usyk,” Fury told the Daily Mail. “He’s a little Ukrainian dosser. That’s all he is to me. No interest in unifying the division. It doesn’t mean s*** to me.
“All that stuff about unifying and whatever, it really doesn’t mean anything to me. I am looking for the biggest payday. Most of the time, Usyk doesn’t cut it.
“He’s just a foreign person who doesn’t speak good English, so you can’t really sell [a fight with] him. I am looking for probably another American. Probably looking to fight Jon Jones in a boxing fight.”
Fury, 35, last fought in December, defeating Derek Chisora for the third time to retain the WBC belt and stay unbeaten. Meanwhile, 36-year-old Usyk most recently boxed in August, defeating Daniel Dubois to also stay unbeaten and retain his titles.
Ngannou, 37, has not fought since retaining the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in January 2022. He then left the promotion and relinquished the belt this January. American Jones, 36, beat Gane to win the vacant title in March, and he is set to defend it against Stipe Miocic in November.
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