• Heavyweight

Fury: I won't let Klitschkos rush me

ESPN staff
July 7, 2012
Tyson Fury has slimmed down for his fight with Vinny Maddalone on Saturday © PA Photos
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Tyson Fury will wait until he is a mandatory challenger for a title before doing battle with either Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko.

Down the years the Klitschkos have been accused of trying to coax opponents into the ring before they are at their peak. And Fury, the former British champion who meets Vinny Maddalone on Saturday, insists he will not fall into that trap.

"I won't sell myself down the river for a couple of hundred grand," Fury told the Daily Star. "I'm no-one's fool. I don't want to just put up a fight and wobble one of the Klitschkos.

"I want to come home with the world title. I'll just bide my time and carry on the way I am. I don't see the reason to rush into such a clash when I clearly have time on my hands. We've got to wait and take our time. It's not hard to get a title shot - it's about getting a mandatory title shot.

"If it's mandatory, then you are talking about millions - it's life-changing money, rather than month-changing money. I think I will get a world title shot late next year. In boxing you've got to wait and keep busy - I've been active while waiting in the wings.

"The things I can change are the way I train and prepare and getting myself up the rankings. By December I should be mandatory for the WBC title [held by Vitali]. Now that would be something to go for. As I have said, I am not rushing."

Wladimir is in action against Tony Thompson, the veteran American he beat four years ago, on Saturday.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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