Tyson Fury to face Christian Hammer on February 28
British heavyweight Tyson Fury (23-0, 17 KOs) will face Christian Hammer (17-3, 10 KOs) on February 28 at the O2 Arena in London.
Fury defeated Dereck Chisora in stopping his countryman after 10 one-sided rounds in their rematch last month to win the British and European titles and in addition become Wladimir Klitschko's mandatory challenger.
However, any possible showdown with the Ukrainian is not due to take place until the summer, with the IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO champion Klitschko likely to defend his titles against American Bryant Jennings (19-0, 10 KOs) on April 25, so the 26-year-old Fury has chosen to stay busy.
German-based Romanian Hammer, 27, enters the bout on a 10-fight winning streak and will be looking to cause a huge upset by being the first to defeat Fury and earn himself a shot at Klitschko.
“I’ve said all along I’m not like these other fighters in the division who pussy foot around, take soft touches and call themselves fighters,” said Fury. “I could have taken an easy job at the O2 arena to keep my position safe for my world title fight against Klitschko, but that’s not what Tyson Fury is about or what the public want to see from someone who has promised from day one to win the world heavyweight title. On paper it’s a dangerous job against Hammer, he’s highly ranked, he brings a big punch with him, he’ll have ambitions of his own to beat me and grab himself a world title shot against Klitschko and I’m sure he’ll be full of confidence coming over here."
“Training for Hammer will start in early January and this year is a big one for me and the world title is in my sight. My focus will be on Hammer now, he’s my priority and the man in the way of my dream. There’s no messing about in the heavyweight division, one punch can turn everything upside down, that goes for him and for me, but I’ve got two things that other fighters lack, a fighting heart and massive balls. I love to fight, if I go down I get up and win, that’s why people love me and want to see me fight. Tyson Fury will never lose, simple.”