Tyson Fury insists his grudge match with Anthony Joshua is perfectly timed as he predicts a classic to rival the ‘Thrilla in Manila’.
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium will host the biggest fight in British boxing history on December 11 but the rivals meet while in the twilight of their careers having circled each other for a decade.
Previous attempts to match the UK’s pre-eminent heavyweights of their generation have repeatedly fallen through, but Fury rejects the widely-held belief the bout has arrived too late.
Instead, he has invoked the thrilling third meeting between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975 as inspiration to deliver a spectacular night in the Welsh capital.
“I don’t regret anything because it’s finally happening,” Fury said. “It probably makes more financial sense now and that’s what we’re in this sport for.
“It’s more money than it ever was before, plus the fact we’ve got the broadcasting giant Netflix streaming it and (Saudi Arabian boxing supremo) Turki Alalshikh has got an open chequebook.
“There’s never been a better time to be the don of the division. And the fact it’s happening in Cardiff – even better.
“You got Ali v Joe later on in their careers – it was a great fight and I believe this will be a great fight, too.
“I believe it will be one of the biggest fights the world’s ever seen and it’ll live up to all the expectations.”
Outside the respectful tone struck at Wednesday’s launch presser when he offered to share a pint of Guinness with Joshua after they had finished in the ring, Fury has been directing a verbal onslaught at his 36-year-old foe.
“I don’t know him as a man,” the ‘Gypsy King’ said. “I only know him as the fake facade we see on TV or when he’s doing interviews.
“I don’t know anything about him at all behind the mask. Sometimes that slips now and again, but I don’t know him as an individual, I don’t know him at all.
“For me, he was never any good. He would never beat me in a million years in any time.
“When I hit him with that right hand, he’s going to feel the full force of it, he’s going to fall over in a heap. Before the bell goes, he’ll be looking for a landing position on the floor somewhere.
“If he didn’t fight me, who would he fight next? He just got knocked down twice by Kristian Prenga, whoever the f*** he is.
“What happens if he fights a live opponent? Someone who’s not hand-picked and selected – a bum – to knock over?
“I don’t know anyone he could beat and he definitely ain’t beating me – that’s for sure!”
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