Jolly Fury takes aim at heavyweight rivals & even Spurs
"I've been out in Saudi Arabia but to come back to England and fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - let's hope I do better than Tottenham because they've been rubbish recently," he quipped. One lingering question concerns Fury's training team. The Morecambe fighter has previously said he would train himself but long-time trainer SugarHill Steward was in attendance, although Fury insisted the American was there only for "moral support".
The grin on Fury's face suggested Steward is likely to appear in the corner on fight night. The face-off ended in good spirits. Makhmudov even lifted Fury off the ground as a joke before the pair shared an embrace.
Arslanbek Makhmudov - who has won 21 fights and lost two - jokingly lifted Tyson Fury at the face-off A smiling Fury made his entrance in typical fashion - dancing onto the stage and playing to the crowd before crossing immediately to shake Makhmudov's hand. There has been little animosity between the pair during fight week. Fury even blew a kiss at his opponent during a promotional appearance earlier in the week.
The news conference itself felt at times like a rerun of the previous launch news conference when the fight was first revealed. Makhmudov rarely engaged in any back-and-forth despite the host's attempts to spark a war of words. Makhmudov spent most of the time glancing at his phone, drawing criticism from heavyweight great Lennox Lewis who was part of the TV broadcast.
The 36-year-old did address one unusual training method – wrestling a bear. "But I don't want to try this anymore because it was so scary," he added. Eventually, Fury - whose record stands at 34 wins from 37 fights, with 24 knockouts, alongside two defeats and one draw - seized the spotlight.