Tyson Fury 'wrestling with bears' as he prepares for huge fight with Deontay Wilder
Tyson Fury joked he is "wrestling with bears at 6am every day" as he continues his preparations for his blockbuster fight with Deontay Wilder.
The Briton faces the biggest test of the second part of his career when he meets Wilder in Las Vegas on December 1.
He has decamped to the Big Bear training camp to prepare at altitude and is relishing the training.
"Everything is going well in Big Bear, there aren't many distractions up there. The air is clean, thin, cold, it's very hard training. I'm enjoying every minute and it's going to prepare me well," he said at a media workout in Los Angeles.
"I have had great sparring, I am getting great work and have other guys coming in next week. I am preparing very well."
Wilder v Fury: Fight details
- Fight night: Saturday December 1
- Title: WBC heavyweight title
- TV Channel: BT Sport Box Office (£19.95, scroll down for booking details)
- TV Start time: Main event approx 4am BST (Sunday)
- Radio coverage: BBC Radio 5 Live
- Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles
- Sky Bet odds: Wilder 4/6, Fury 6/4, Draw 20/1 (Click to bet)
- CLICK HERE FOR OUR BIG FIGHT GUIDE
Enjoying his audience with American journalists, Fury joked he had been "wrestling with bears at 6am every day" as part of his build-up.
"I am nice and slick, he can't land on me!" he said.
"Training at altitude has been very hard. The air is thin and it's hard to breathe. I came over here and was already very fit, could fight 12 rounds on the pads, no problem. Here, I am tired after three or four rounds.
"The main reason I came (to America to train) was because it's on the same time zone. It's very important. It's a massive advantage and if I can get it right, I'll feel great.
"I have been here three weeks and am waking up at 7am, 8am. When I first got here I was waking up at 4.30am and wandering round all morning waiting to do stuff."
Fury added that he had been speaking with British great Lennox Lewis about Big Bear, California.
"When I'm not training I am thinking about training, when I'm not thinking about training I'm sleeping and when I'm not sleeping I'm eating, when I'm not eating, I'm resting, watching TV," he said when asked how he had been spending his spare time.
"I don't leave Big Bear. I went down a mountain to Ontario last week, just to check everything was going right. I was feeling very tired in the gym, I was speaking to Lennox Lewis on the phone and he told me he got out of there after a week.
"He said he hated it and it was too hard. I went to sea level, and I was very fit."