"I'm as strong as I've ever been," insists Fury, who turns up for public workout in Las Vegas in Mexican wrestling mask
Thursday 12 September 2019 09:50, UK
Tyson Fury insists he has trained as hard for upcoming opponent Otto Wallin as he did for his world heavyweight title fight against Deontay Wilder.
Fury faces Wallin in Las Vegas on Saturday and believes a victory over the unbeaten Swede will pave the way for a rematch with Wilder.
Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has questioned the quality of Fury's recent opponents but the 'Gypsy King' says he is expecting a tough challenge this weekend.
"I don't underestimate anybody. I give everybody the ultimate respect," said Fury. "Even if I'm fighting a guy that has had 20 fights and lost 20, I will train for him like he's had 20 knockouts in a row. I never fail to prepare.
"I've trained hard for this fight, as hard as I trained for Wilder, as hard I've trained for anybody. I've not overlooked him.
"I've been in America for five weeks training, I was in Spain for two weeks before that and I was training at home for two weeks before that.
"I'm as strong as I've ever been, I feel very fit and very accurate. We've been working on different things in the gym. He's tall, a southpaw and a defensive fighter. That always is a challenge.
"But I've never met a challenge I couldn't defeat, I've never met a mountain I couldn't climb and I've never met a man I couldn't defeat - and he's no exception."
Fury faces Wallin on the weekend of the anniversary of Mexican Independence, a traditional date for major fights in Las Vegas.
Fury wore a Lucha Libre wrestling mask and the Mexican colours to a pre-fight public workout on Wednesday, and the former WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion says it was his decision to fight on the national holiday.
"I wasn't supposed to box on this weekend. I was supposed in New York in early October," said Fury.
"But when we heard that [Saul] Canelo Alvarez wasn't going to be fighting on Mexican Independence weekend, I thought 'Damn, what a shock'.
"This has been a special weekend for boxing in Las Vegas for many years. I thought the Mexican people are not going to have a main attraction, a main event, so I need to step in.
"So I brought my fight date forward four weeks."