Tyson Fury is ready to take his place alongside sport’s global superstars - claiming the heavyweight title will see him rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as a modern-day icon.
The 27-year-old is on a mission.
Not only to end Wladimir Klitschko’s heavyweight rule at Dusseldorf’s Esprit Arena - but also to restore the status of one of sport’s most prized titles.
For all of Fury’s antics - the outbursts and the publicity stunts - his love and respect for boxing cannot be questioned.
He is an historian of the sport - and a man determined follow in the footsteps of his heavyweight heroes like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.
While Klitschko has dominated for nearly a decade, Fury believes the Ukrainian has failed to give the title of heavyweight champion the grandeur it deserves.
In an age when footballers are at the top of sport’s food chain, he is convinced he can be the man to lead boxing back to the summit.
“The way I am, I could be one of the most famous sporting stars in the country – in the world – right now,” he said. “A win over Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday night puts me right up there with all of those players.
“It depends on the champion.
“We have a WBA regular champion Ruslan Chagaev and he would rank with the Morecambe players, with Leicester and all those sort of players.
“But then we have the Mike Tysons of the world and he’d rank with the Messis and the Ronaldos of today.
“Klitschko at the moment, he doesn’t rank up there with the superstars from today. Take him out of Germany and boxing fans, then he’s not really that known.
“When I beat him, I can be a global phenomenon because of my personality, my boxing style and the way I conduct myself.
“I think he’s taken the heavyweight champion under water a bit because he’s got no flair or flamboyancy.
“It’s just strictly business and not everybody likes to see that.”
Few could accuse Fury of lacking flair.
Dressing as Batman to a press conference with Klitschko is just a taste of his sense of showmanship.
He has promised to serenade the German fans if he’s victorious - and couldn’t resist bursting into song during a public workout at Dusseldorf airport earlier this week.
He was refrained during Friday’s weigh-in, other than initially refusing to shake Klitschko’s hand on stage.
After a stare-off that lasted the best part of a minute, Fury eventually did shake his rival by the hand.
For his part Klitschko is adamant the British challenger’s attempts to get under his skin have failed - but he adds that they will provoke a reaction in the ring.
The 39-year-old said: “I don’t like it when things are boring and done in a certain way and we try to hype up the excitement around a fight.
“I don’t need to do that in this case because my opponent is doing everything for me.
“I always perform better when I am challenged, but when I am not challenged there is no emotion.
“You want to be emotionless in the ring, but in this case there is motivation.
“He is playing into my hands because I know when I am challenged like this I need to perform, I need to pull something out of my closet a lot more to win.
“Usually I just do enough to win, I’m expecting a very, very tough fight.”
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