Tyson Fury, Britain's heavyweight boxing star, had finished his brief remarks on Thursday afternoon and sat down at Jack Demsey's Pub in Manhattan before he said he had one more thought:
Has anyone sponsored the bottom of Steve Cunningham's boots?
If not, Fury said he would like to put his Twitter handle on the bottom so he can gain more followers after he knocks out the West Philadelphian on April 20 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in a match televised on NBC.
Cunningham dismissed Fury and said he had no interest in talking.
"There's a code that runs through the streets," Cunningham said. "The guys who talk a lot are chumps."
The 24-year-old Fury (20-0, 14 knockouts) will be making his U.S. debut, and all but one of his 20 professional fights have been in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The 12-round fight will begin in the afternoon so it can be aired to a prime-time audience in the UK.
Under IBF rules, the winner will face Bulgaria's Kubrat Pulev. The winner of that fight will become the No. 1 contender for IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
"I'm a man on a mission, and I mean business," Fury said. "Steve's got a lot to be thankful for - he's been a world cruiserweight champion; he has a lovely wife and lovely children - but I'm going to retire you, Steve."
Fury easily defeated American Kevin Johnson last December, and his signature win was a 2011 unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Dereck Chisora to win the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles.
In Cunningham's last fight, the 36-year-old (25-5, 12 KOs) lost a controversial split decision to Tomasz Adamek. It was Cunningham's second fight since moving up from cruiserweight, a division in which he won two world titles.
He will give up six inches in height to the 6-foot-9 Fury, and Cunningham expects his opponent to attempt to lean on him throughout. Fury also weighs nearly 50 pounds more than the 203-pound Cunningham.
Cunningham's cruiserweight background makes him a swift heavyweight, and he could attack Fury from a distance.
"A lot of guys don't want to get up in the ring with a straight-up giant," Cunningham said. "He's a literal giant. But I'm a fighter. That's what I do. I grew up in Philly."
North Philadelphia lightweight Karl Dargan (12-0, 6 KOs) will fight on the undercard against a yet-to-be-named opponent. Dargan, 27, scored a split decision on Feb. 23 against Ramesis Gil.
Contact Matt Breen at mbreen@phillynews.com and @matt_breen on Twitter.
