With the heavyweight showdown just five days away, Tyson Fury has claimed that he will withdraw from his title clash with Wladimir Klitschko is issues relating to the mandated gloves for the fight are not resolved.

Fury argues that the Paffen gloves, contractually requested by Klitschko, leave him at serious risk of thumb injury. The former Irish champion has insisted a specially made version of the gloves to prevent injury, but does not know if this will be ready in time.

Speaking to Sky Sports, who will air Saturday’s fight on pay-per-view, Fury explained that “there’s a ruckus over the gloves. I mean this: If I don’t fight in the right gloves, then there’s no fight. I’m in Germany, in the town he picked, wearing the make of gloves he wanted.”

“He’s had it all his own way in every single aspect and all I ask is that I’m treated fairly and to wear gloves which fit me, for the sake of my hands.”

“I just want a normal glove. I either get the gloves I want or there’s no fight. Alternatively, we can do it bare-knuckle.”

Detailing the problem with the gloves ordered by the Ukrainian, Fury noted that “they had big giant thumbs which were about two or three inches bigger than normal so that the thumb is sticking out.”

“Every time I was punching with them my thumb was nearly breaking. No matter how we tried breaking them in, it wasn’t working.”

Paffen are currently racing against time to have a pair of modified gloves ready for fight night, and until then we will not know whether the fight will go ahead.

The 27 year old Manchester-born fighter explained that “you don’t get your gloves in advance so I won’t know until the rules meeting after the weigh-in whether they are ready.”

“If I get the gloves with the big thumbs? It’s a no-go area. I’m not fighting in them.”

Read Fury’s full interview with Sky here