Chisora lost his British and Commonwealth titles to Tyson Fury last year and was then defeated by Robert Helenius in Finland, but the 28-year-old has jumped to the top of the long queue of fighters waiting to face WBC champion Klitschko.

Adam Booth, trainer and manager of David Haye, who is struggling to set up a showdown with the Ukrainian, is among those that does not expect Klitschko to have any trouble dispatching a man who is six inches shorter than him, and many other critics see Chisora as being unable to survive past the opening rounds.

Eleven fighters have failed to beat Klitschko since Lewis stopped the Ukrainian in 2003, but Chisora claims he has what it takes to cause an upset.

Swagger

"Vitali has been around a long time. He is the king of the sport, but it's about time that somebody came in who is young and fresh and I am going to 'whup' his ass," Chisora said

"A lot of people have tried to stop him but they don't have the swagger and the passion to go in there and do the business that I have got.

"I am not scared. That's why I am going to be successful.

"Everyone is saying it's going to be the biggest fight of my career but that's just because he has been on the throne for such a long time.

"Maybe this will be the toughest test of his career."

Chisora was in a confident mood as he opened the doors of his north London gym to the media for a workout yesterday, donning a cap with the words "I am the greatest" written on it.

He claims he is not concerned about the pessimistic noises emanating from the boxing world about his chances of success in next month's fight in Munich's Olympiahalle.

"I don't care what people think," Chisora said. "They are not the ones who are going in to the ring.

"I am the one who is doing the fighting, so I will decide what happens."