Tyson Fury is more durable than Anthony Joshua and the rest of his rivals despite his ‘love handles’, Charlotte Daly tells The Hook… as she claims added muscle would ‘slow him down’ ahead of Francis Ngannou showdown

Tyson Fury is the sport’s most durable heavyweight and can outlast ‘chiselled’ stars like Anthony Joshua in the ring despite his love handles, Charlotte Daly told The Hook.

Fury – who takes on Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia this weekend in a showdown dubbed the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ – gave an exclusive interview with Mail Sport this week in which he said he was proud of his weight and claimed it will help him defeat the MMA star.

He defiantly said that he “embraces being fat because my love handles separate me from the rest of the world” and Daly discussed how despite his physique he still possessed incredible stamina and endurance in the ring.

Speaking Mail Sports new boxing podcast The Hook, she told co-host Alex McCarthy: “Tyson Fury is one of, if not the, most durable heavyweight right now.

“He can outlast Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, you name it, a heavyweight, he can outlast them.

The gypsy king can survive ‘chiselled’ stars like Anthony Joshua (L), despite his ‘love handles’

‘He doesn’t look the way he should. AJ is there with his chiseled six-pack as he weighs in, Tyson is there with his beloved love handles, but he is durable and that makes him dangerous in the final rounds of the fight. Francis is going to look at that this weekend.’

Daly added that the Gypsy King might not even be as effective if he were leaner and had more muscle – saying this could hinder his abilities and slow him down in the ring.

“Fury has great footwork in the ring, when you combine that with the IQ he has, he’s hard to hit. I don’t want Fury to fool people by saying that because he has such love handles and no six pack, he isn’t working hard in the gym.

“If he were to put on a lot of muscle, it would slow him down and destroy all those things that are great about him. He works very hard with his coach Christian Blacklock to find the perfect balance. He gets most of his conditioning from sparring sessions.

Fury told Mail Sport in an exclusive interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

‘Christian told me how he does fitness exercises at the beginning of a camp before putting on gloves. It’s just pure fitness.

‘He is also a strong man; it looks top heavy, but it’s also quite strong at the bottom. Don’t be fooled by the love handles. He does his work in the gym, it is not just a matter of luck that he is so fit.’

In his interview with Mail Sport, Fury explained why he ‘doesn’t care about being fat’ and how his looks can be deceiving in the ring.

‘It’s good to have a good body. I would like to have a good body. But I have no hope of having a good body,” he said.

‘I’ve been training for over twenty years and I still don’t have a good body. I’ve been in a training camp for the past twelve weeks and have been living like a monk, but I still don’t have a good body.

Fury is preparing for an epic crossover fight against MMA star Ngannou on Saturday evening

‘I didn’t have a good body when I was a teenager, let alone living to be 40 years old. But the one thing I learned is that this is not a bodybuilding competition.

“Although I don’t look like a man who can run long distances or twenty miles, I am a man who can.

“I consider myself an old-fashioned guy who can go in there and argue, it doesn’t really matter what I look like. It’s about achieving victory.

‘If I had a 10-pack and I looked like Adonis – completely unbelievable and I didn’t win, then it’s pointless. So I don’t mind being fat.

‘I’m fat now, I was fat as a baby and I’ll be fat on my deathbed. We are all fat. Hughie is fat, Shane is fat, my dad is fat and even my mom is fat. I hope she’s not watching this. But we are a big family.

‘Even when I arrived at 17stone this way, I still had love handles. It’s definitely my trademark.’