Boxing is a sport of fine margins, one false move and the next thing you know you're stumbling up from the canvas asking what day it is.
So, athletes at the top of the sport are always trying to find a way of getting the edge over their opponent, playing mind games to psyche the other out and take advantage when it matters.
In the modern era, no one is better at the dark arts than the outspoken Tyson Fury.
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And according to fellow Brit Anthony Joshua, the Mancunian has taken their rivalry to new levels, and even calls him up just to say he's going to 'knock him out'.
Speaking to Behind The Gloves, Joshua said: "He's an interesting character. Tyson will call me randomly on the phone and he will be like, 'have a little laugh and I will have a little laugh'.
"Then I will say I'm going to knock you out, then he will say 'shut up I'll knock you out.
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"That's just me and Tyson, through and through the respect's there but we're fighting men."
But when asked whether the two of them were best buds, Joshua was quick to say: "Not friends, not friends, not friends but there's a mutual respect there, I respect the man, he's done his thing."
Their war of words has been rumbling on for some years now, with fans desperate to see the two Brits get in the ring and settle it once and for all.
And according to Joshua, he can't wait to get it on with Fury.
He said: "He's a fighting man he started at the age of 12, I started at the age of 18, I didn't do nothing else before.
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"I used to play a bit of football in the local area but when it came to boxing, that's where my heart is attached to, I love this sport and I'd love to fight him one day."
But before that ever happens, Joshua has to get past Andy Ruiz. Jr who took his defeated the the Watford fighter earlier this year, ending his reign as heavyweight champ.
Fury angered Joshua earlier this year when he claimed the Olympic medalist should quit if he loses the rematch in Saudi Arabia next moth.
Speaking to IFL TV, Fury said: "If you can't beat Andy Ruiz Jr, you can't do anything to Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. Or any other decent heavyweight in the world.
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"If he can't beat Andy Ruiz Jr in the rematch, he's finished - DONE, finished, goodnight, bye-bye.
"If he can't beat Ruiz in the rematch he needs to retire - simple as, forget about it, give it up as a bad job.
"He's done well out of it, he's had a few quid, he's won a world title before and everything else that goes with it so fair play to him."
Featured Image Credit: TwitterTopics: SPORT, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Boxing, Interesting