Tyson Fury was named the best heavyweight in the world in the aftermath of Anthony Joshua’s shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in New York.

Fury has made a remarkable comeback to the sport after struggling with drug abuse and mental illness for years.

Now, the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ has a chance to cement his status as the best in the world when he takes on Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas at the weekend.

Fury will be wary of his less-fancied opponent after what happened to Joshua, but it is fair to say that some of his other rivals are less than impressed with his choice of opponent.

The ever vocal Dillian Whyte has had his say, branding Fury a ‘coward’ for choosing to face Schwarz.

“I don’t know how you call yourself the No1 heavyweight in the world and be fighting Tom Schwarz. He’s No56 in the world and seven in Germany,” he said.

“Fury turned down my next opponent, Oscar Rivas, to fight Schwarz. These guys think they are clever, but they just want to keep tricking the fans. He goes on like he is the best heavyweight around, but he is not.

“I am fighting Rivas, an unbeaten former Olympian and a dangerous fighter, who wrecked Anthony Joshua conqueror Andy Ruiz Jr’s Olympic hopes. He is conning the public.

“One thing he is doing, though, is giving [WBC champion Deontay] Wilder a run for his money when it comes to being a coward.”

Well then - Whyte not mincing his words.

It’s hard to argue with Whyte’s point of view, though.

Boxing fans would far rather see a fight between Fury and one of the other top names in the sport and you can’t help but feel that Schwarz is a bit of a safe choice.

For now, though, fans will have to make do with Saturday night’s bout in Las Vegas.

Fury should absolutely dominate Scwharz as he builds towards his highly anticipated rematch with Deontay Wilder.

Stranger things have happened though and Schwarz will be quietly confident that he can cause a Ruiz-esque upset in Sin City.