The 26-year-old Manchester banger knows that everything is on the line when he faces the German based Romanian, with a shot at Wladimir Klitschko’s WBO belt next up if he comes through the fight unscathed, live and exclusive on BoxNation.
However, in the big-hitting Hammer, who has a record of 17 wins from his 20 fights, he faces a man who has vowed to tear up the script and steal the show at the O2 Arena on Saturday night.
“Tyson Fury will not go the distance against me, he will be getting knocked out clean and left to pick up the pieces after the fight. He cannot hurt me with his punches because I’m in the best shape of my career for this fight. He will not last against me,” said Hammer.
“He has been put down before, he can be hit and hurt. He has plenty of heart, but once I put him down he will stay down.
“I’ve taken this fight because I know I can get the Klitschko world title fight when I beat Fury. Klitschko is talking about fighting Fury, but he will be talking about my name once I knock out Fury,” Hammer said.
Yet, the British, European and WBO International champion Fury is spurred on by the fear of losing.
Fury, who has won all 23 professional fights, said, “once you get done over there is no point in carrying on, is there?
“Boxers bounce back after a defeat, but are they the same? Are they really that good?
“When you think you’re unbeatable like I do now and get splattered all over the ring, you are not the man you were. You’re a beaten shell of yourself.
“If you get flattened you’re not as good as you thought you were, but if you lose a disputed decision or something goes wrong and you get disqualified, there isn’t much you can do about that.
“I am not in that position to know whether I would walk away if I got knocked out, but I would think about it.
“It isn’t just me I have to think about. I have got a wife and kids. Do I really need to be taking punishment where I could end up in a wheelchair?
“All the money and titles wouldn’t mean anything because I am sat there drooling from the mouth.”
Chris Eubank Jr will also feature on this Saturday night’s card when he challenges interim WBA middleweight champion Dmitry Chudinov.
The Brighton boxer is looking to bounce back in style following his split decision loss to rival Billy Joe Saunders last November, and is well aware that he splits opinion amongst fight fans.
“In this game you want to be loved, hated or both. You don’t want to be in the middle. Everything I have done, the way I fight, puts me at either end of the spectrum. I am a Marmite type fighter, you either love me or hate me,” said Eubank Jr.
“Even people who don’t like me are still going to come and pay to watch me fight and see me lose. Either way, they are still there watching, but I want to have a worldwide fan base and I believe I can do it,” he said.
Fury v Hammer is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD, Virgin 546 and TalkTalk 525) this Saturday at 7pm. Visit BoxNation to subscribe.
