Tuesday 20 January 2015 16:29, UK
Tyson Fury insists he is fully focused on his next opponent Christian Hammer despite a potential future fight with new WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
American Wilder won the title on Saturday night with a points victory over Bermane Stiverne and, as well as declaring his intent to take on Wladimir Klitschko, the 29-year-old also mentioned Fury as a future opponent.
Fury, the European and WBO International heavyweight champion and mandatory challenger for Klitschko's WBO crown after his win over Dereck Chisora last year, will meet Hammer at London's O2 Arena on February 28 and is hopeful of meeting Klitschko later in 2015.
But the 26-year-old is thinking no further ahead than his showdown with WBO No 3 Hammer.
"It is very refreshing to hear the new heavyweight champion wants to fight me," said Fury. "It shows the calibre of fighter I am when the first thing out of their mouth is that they want to fight me, so there we have it.
"Hammer is a good boxer. I must focus on this fight and I take it very, very seriously. As far as I'm concerned I'm not interested in Klitschko, Wilder or anyone else, I'm only interested in this guy.
"Hammer is my most accomplished opponent so far from the pedigree of his amateur background and how he has come through the professional fights and he is on a winning streak, he has won his last 10."
Asked what his ideal path to a world title would be, Fury said: "I would chose to fight Klitschko because he is No 1 in the division.
"He holds most of the belts. Then I would defend it against Deontay Wilder to unify the division. That is my ideal plan providing I get past Hammer."
Promoter Frank Warren admits he would drop the Hammer fight if an agreement could be reached for Fury to meet Wilder.
"I had a conversation last night but it is early days," said Warren on Tuesday. "They said they wanted it - they called it out and said they wanted it. If we made that fight today I would pay him (Hammer) off, and talk them out of it and go straight to it.
"We would pay him, give him another fight on the card and go straight to the Wilder fight, why take the risk?
"Everyone is pushing against an open door here. All this guy (Fury) wants to do is fight for a world title, whether it be Klitschko or Wilder. There are some talks going on about it.
"The most exciting fight out there is Fury versus Wilder - two undefeated heavyweights, same style and similar heights.
"As a promoter obviously you are looking to put on the big events and I think the Wilder fight would be huge. It would be the biggest fight in the last 10 years of British boxing. It would fill up any football ground in the country. 2015 is the renaissance of the heavyweight division."
