Tyson Fury targets Klitschko, Wilder - inflates his own ego

Tyson Fury is scheduled to fight Christian Hammer on Saturday, in what is supposed to be his last 'tune up' before taking on the elite-level heavyweights. By his own admission, Fury isn't concerned with anyone in the heavyweight landscape, and while talking up his most recent win over Dereck Chisora, he also mentions that he expects both Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder to try and duck him for as long as possible. Despite all this, my only real question is about the logistics of Saturday's fight -- like how they plan on fitting his head inside the arena.

"I thought I put on a spectacular performance against Chisora, "said the 26-year-old Fury, who is THE RING's No. 3-rated heavyweight. "I fought southpaw most of the way, against the WBO number one contender, and barely took a punch. That's never been done and I was fresh after 10 rounds.

"I could have fought like that all night long and was very impressed with my showing after all the inactivity."

Then when asked about the actual opponent directly in front of him, Fury seemed to only reference him in passing.

"Hammer has decent footwork and he punches well in combination but a good stiff hook to the jaw will sort that out. I want to stay busy and I'm looking forward to getting back in there, but I'm not really bothered about any of these heavyweights at the moment.

"I want to fight because that's what I get paid for."

Fury's rematch with Dereck Chisora was an eliminator bout for the WBO Championship, a title currently owned by heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko, but Tyson expects Wlad would rather vacate the belt than stand opposite of him in the ring.

"Klitschko won't fight me - ever," said Fury with rippling frustration. "He'll vacate the WBO title because it's game over for him if we do get it on. I expect Wladimir to fight someone else, after he beats Jennings, which means the WBO will strip him and I'll be fighting for a vacant title.

"When he vacates that belt, everyone will know who the real champion is because Klitschko would rather step down than face me. I'll take Wladimir out, he knows it and I know it. People will start to believe he's been avoiding me when he dumps that belt."

Let me be clear, I cannot possibly believe that Wlad is running scared of a man who is perhaps most famous for accidentally punching his own face. I don't believe it for a second. Nor do I believe Fury would actually be able to beat Wlad in a fight.

Deontay Wilder's name was then brought up next, and Tyson seemed to embrace the thought, but stated that he expects Deontay to skirt him for a while longer because he's in no rush to end his meteoric rise.

"Wilder has a good team behind him and they're making the right moves," said Fury (23-0, 17 KOs). "I don't expect them to come after me immediately because they'll want to make some cash first. Don't get me wrong, I'm the biggest money fight out there for him but I'm also the biggest risk.

"The thing is, when we do fight, it will be a box office smash. Both of us are young, colorful, unbeaten and we're crazy. It's also USA versus UK, which hasn't happened in a long time. We've spoken before and I told him this day would come and he agreed. The hype started as soon as he beat Stiverne."

Of course, a falter here against Hammer and all those big dreams could dissipate in a hurry. But Fury doesn't see that as having any real chance of happening - which is at least in line with popular opinion.

"To be honest, Hammer is a decent European-level fighter but I'm planning on putting my fist straight through him. As soon as I hit him properly he's gone."