TYSON FURY admits his decision to take on Christian Hammer this weekend was a gamble, but does not expect it to derail his lofty plans to unify the heavyweight division.
Manchester fighter Fury is the mandatory challenger for Wladimir Klitschko's WBO belt and is also on the radar of WBC champion Deontay Wilder - two potential prize fights should the 26-year-old see of Hammer at the O2 Arena on Saturday.
A UK-based bout is already under negotiation between the Fury and Klitschko camps and the Briton is already plotting a subsequent unification bout against Wilder.
But before that talk can truly reach fever pitch, he must take care of Romanian Hammer, who lies third in the WBO rankings and represents as tough a holding bout as Fury could have imagined.
"It's a risky decision but I need fights to keep busy; Hammer was available and he took the fight - good man," Fury conceded.
"Every guy who enters the ring is a risky opponent. But I'm here to win. There's no space for fear or lack of confidence, self-disbelief, nothing. I have to be 100% focused on my game, 100% commited and 100% that I'm going to win every fight. If I felt any sort of doubt, I wouldn't be in this position today.
"To be honest, I'm the man in the division to beat. Everyone wants to fight me because they know I generate interest."
It was not long before Klitschko's name passed Fury's lips, as the 26-year-old positioned himself as the man to end his reign - a task he declared 'easy'.
"I would like to fight Wladimir [Klitschko] first because number one he's my mandatory, number two he's the best in the division and number three because he is an easy fight," said Fury.
"Every good man has his day and I believe Wladimir is coming to the end of his career.
"Then I'll fight Wilder. I won't be taking any interim fights, I'll unify straight away."
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