Dillian Whyte teed off as he finally broke cover ahead of the St George's Day battle of Britain and warned: “This isn't the Tyson Fury show.”
Before their WBC heavyweight world title fight in front of a record 94,000 fans at Wembley on April 23, the Gypsy King revealed he had been hitting up to 200 balls a day on the golf range to increase the power in his right hand. But Whyte, who has served an astonishing 1,260 days as mandatory challenger, is refusing to be the pitching wedge where Fury has been wielding the driver.
Emerging from his training camp in Portugal for the first time, said: “This fight's been a long time coming. Even when I was the mandatory challenger, we had to go through a legal process. We had to push the legal angle and finally we got him to fight me. It's not the Tyson Fury Show – his fights with Deontay Wilder didn't sell out. This show sold out because of me and Tyson Fury.
“I don't dance to no-one's tune. I'm a warrior, I'm a survivor. We can dance together, but it can't be one-way traffic. I'm a disciplined guy, I've learned to be disciplined over the years. You want me to do things (to promote the fight)? Cool, but I'm a professional. When these guys try to mug me off, and treat me like it's the Tyson Fury show, they need to get things corrected. it's very had to clap with one hand. You need two hands to clap.”
Fury is 1-6 with bookies to extend his 32-fight unbeaten record against 34-year-old Whyte, whose only two defeats were against Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin. But the Brixton 'Bodysnatcher' is in the mood to seize his chance, warning: “I had no education, I didn't go to school, I've been on the streets since I was a child.
"I had no sporting background, no support, no backing. We have gone through lots of scenarios, but the bell might go and I just start f***ing having it in the first round.”
Fury, who will be fighting on home soil for the first time since August 2018, has been maintaining a social media blackout – but his training camp on Morecambe Bay has involved unconventional trips to the golf course.
He revealed: “I have been playing a lot of golf in training – driving the ball 400 yards. I hit 150 to 200 balls day and it's improved my boxing, it's improved my power in that right hand. We've had a lot of fun in camp. It's not like I'm going to the guillotine – it's damn, I'm going to be on TV!
“I'm going to take it all in because I'm obsessed with time, with moments in time – and these are my moments in time. I've got to take every second as a blessing.”
