Eccentric British boxing heavyweight hopeful Tyson Fury has lit up another press conference, praising his Wladimir Klitschko's "sexy" tan, before grabbing a quick sniff of the giant Ukrainian.

"Stare me down Wlad, stare me down!" Fury declared as the two met for the last time before their Saturday showdown in the German city of Dusseldorf.

"You look scary, you look nice and sexy as well. Nice shave, bit of a tan, your hair's grown back," Tyson said, before leaning in to sniff his Ukrainian opponent.

"Oh he smells good, too" Fury proclaimed, as Klitschko remained impassive.

When the talking turned to boxing, Fury said he was feeling well prepared for Sunday.

"I was injury free the whole camp which was quite cool this time and we didn't leave anything unturned that we shouldn't have done.

"I ate, slept, drank plenty of water and ate my vitamins so I should be feeling good come fight night.

"It all crashes down to me as soon as I land into the town and I see the big posters everywhere and I actually feel like I'm involved in a fight now and I'm really nervous.

"I just want to say 'thank you' to all the fans out there that are following this fight and I'm sure it is going to be a sold-out stadium and it's going to be a great atmosphere and a great night."

This week Fury's father spoke of his pride in his 2.09m tall, 116kg son, who was born three months early.

"They wrote him off, saying he wouldn't live," said John Fury.

"I told them, 'It's his destiny to live, and I'll tell you one better than that - he'll end up nearly 7 feet (2.13 metres) tall, 20 stones (127kg), and be the heavyweight champion of the world. And his name's going to be Tyson, after Mike Tyson.'"

It could turn out to be some prophecy.

Tyson Fury is now unbeaten in 24 professional fights, and says he is ready to shake up the heavyweight division by taking the WBA, WBO and IBF belts off Klitschko.

If he wins, the boxing world had better watch out. Fury might be among the most colourful and interesting characters in sports.

Born in Manchester, he is of Gypsy heritage - he calls himself "Gypsy King" on Twitter - and comes from a bloodline of bare-knuckle champions on both sides of his family.

Fury is deeply religious. He wears Ugg boots. He appeared at a recent news conference dressed up as Batman, and wrestled a man wearing a Joker costume to the floor. He's a wannabe politician. He has suffered from depression and successfully battled against bulimia. And then there's his eye-catching name.

"If I can't fight, nobody can," Fury said at his gym in Bolton, northwest England.

"Like a racehorse is bred for racing, I'm bred for fighting. Nothing else. I'm what you call a pure-bred. Pure-bred fighter. Pure-bred idiot."