Tyson Fury said he respected Oleksandr Usyk ahead of their unified world heavyweight title bout but questioned whether his opponent could contend with a much bigger fighter after making the step up to the heavyweight class.
The long-awaited fight between the two undefeated boxers was originally scheduled for 17 February in Riyadh but postponed two weeks before the bout when Britain's Fury suffered a cut during sparring.
Billed as the 'Ring of Fire', the bout will now take place on 18 May to unify Fury's WBC heavyweight championship with the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts held by Usyk, one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world.
Fury, who admitted to being a bit depressed when the fight was postponed, said he was in fantastic shape but did not want the bout to be portrayed as one between two men who despised each other.
"This is not personal, it's strictly business for both fighters. I don't hate him, I respect him as a man, as a fighter," Fury said.
"He's unified heavyweight champion so anyone should respect his achievements. But I'm very confident in my ability.
"My personal opinion is we have weight divisions for a reason. When the cruiserweights step up to the big boys, they're found wanting. You can beat the average big ones but not the elite big ones."
Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion who vacated his titles to move up to heavyweight, is six feet three inches. Fury is six inches taller and has a longer reach than the Ukrainian.
Fury, who called himself an "encyclopaedia on boxing", referred to a number of examples of cruiserweights stepping up, including Evander Holyfield, who lost the most recent undisputed heavyweight clash with Lennox Lewis in 1999.
"I’m in fantastic shape," he said. "I’m having a fantastic training camp and have got a good team around me, everything is going to plan. I’m working very hard, I’ve got my Dad (John Fury) in camp this time, so I’ve got my secret weapon. We’ve got a full circus camp, so can’t do any more really."
He later added: "I think if I didn’t train at all for this camp, I just came in at like 25 stone, and sank maybe 15 pints of Peroni beforehand, and the next day got in there, what is he (Usyk) going to do – jab me around?
"Take nothing away, but he couldn’t do anything with Derek Chisora (who Usyk beat in a heavyweight fight in 2020). It was a 50-50 fight."
Since beating Chisora, Usyk has recorded unanimous and split decision victories against Anthony Joshua and a ninth-round knockout against Daniel Dubois.
Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) first became world champion with victory over Usyk’s compatriot Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, and he added: "I said if I can’t beat old Wlad, I must be useless, and I’ll say it again – if I can’t beat Usyk, I’m no good clearly. That’s your headline. If Tyson Fury can’t beat Usyk, Tyson’s no good, end of.
"But if I beat him, I beat another man, great, fantastic – on to the next one.
"This is my time, my destiny, my era and my generation."
While the Briton has taken every opportunity to dismiss his opponent, Usyk has been far more reserved.
"This is showbiz, entertainment - if they don't talk about what's going on then people lose interest. If you don't talk smack in this game, you're never going to make it," Fury said.
"My advice is talk smack, then people notice you."
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