‘You can’t force someone to do something they don’t want to do’: Tyson Fury talks failed fights with Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua

As heavyweight champion Tyson Fury prepares to take on MMA fighter Francis Ngannou in an upcoming boxing match, many are wondering why he isn’t instead fighting other top fighters in the sport. After all, an undisputed unification with Oleksandr Usyk seemed like a no-brainer, and even a prizefight against someone like Anthony Joshua would be a big event.

Fury tells Sky Sports that he and his team haven’t a clue about why Usyk supposedly turned down a fight against him this past April, but is sure Usyk has his reasons. And to that end Fury says he cannot force himself into these big fights if his proposed opponents, such as Anthony Joshua, are unwilling.

“In this last year I’ve tried two or three times. It’s always not happened for whatever reason. I’m not optimistic. For about a week during the negotiations of this year I was very optimistic,” he said.

“You can’t force someone to do something they don’t want to do. Unless both parties are willing then these fights don’t get made, as we’ve seen over the years.”

So with no big fight available to Fury in the boxing world, as he’ll have you believe, he’ll instead go the prizefight route in some form of exhibition bout. That might not be of much intrigue to the hardcore boxing audience, but Fury stands to make a pretty penny in what should be an easy night’s work.