Klitschko: My ego protects me against Fury
Wladimir Klitschko is fighting for his ego as he continues to defend his world heavyweight titles into his 40th year.
The 39-year-old WBA, WBO and IBF champion has no qualms about his own sense of self-worth as he heads towards his 10th year as the kingpin of the heavyweight division.
He puts his belts on the line against Britain's Tyson Fury in Dusseldorf on Saturday insisting his mindset is key to his success.
"This probably sounds selfish, but I have a very big ego," he said. "It's not about somebody else - it is about my own satisfaction and my own ego that needs to be satisfied.
"My ego is big and it gives me the motivation. My ego says I have been champion for a long time.
"I think that's the core of any successful person - ego. We could talk about it negatively as someone being egotistical, like fear, and fear is also negative. But fear is also healthy because fear makes you alert, aware, punctual, being in the right place in the right time. It makes you fast, it makes you alive."
"So I wouldn't say to put ego in a negative box. I think it's controlled ego - it's big and that's probably the core of your motivation."
Asked if his ego would force him to keep fighting if he lost against Fury, Klitschko said: "There's no 'if'. I know this game well - there is no 'if'.
"The person who can beat me is myself. If I'm 100 per cent focused, then the only person who can beat me is myself.
"I would have to allow someone to beat me, but I won't allow that because my ego is my protection.
"I can only lose to myself."
The champion is not ruffled by accusations of arrogance.
He said: "It's important to me in the morning, in the evening, every time I look in the mirror, I look at a person I actually like.
"I look at the person reflected in the mirror and think 'you're a cool dude, you've done well'. Or there are some moments when I think 'how could you do that?'."
He added: "It's not about being narcissistic. I just feel comfortable in my skin. I feel good about myself. I don't feel bad about being egotistic. I'm comfortable with that and I know it's healthy."
Klitschko's manager Bernd Boente compared his fighter to other big sporting egos, such as football managers Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp.
"People speak about Jose Mourinho being the Special One, but I know Jurgen Klopp personally and he calls himself the Normal One," he said.
"But Jurgen Klopp has a huge ego. Ego does not mean thinking you are the Special One - it just means that you are driven. Jurgen Klopp has a big ego and is a great guy, contrary to Mourinho."