Should Tyson Fury beat Francesco Pianeta, a fight with Deontay Wilder is expected in November

• Tyson Fury vs Francesco Pianeta: live round-by-round fight updates

Tyson Fury must do three things on Saturday against former world title challenger Francesco Pianeta: win, get rounds under his belt and show focus in dealing with a major occasion outdoors in front of 25,000 fans at Belfast’s Windsor Park.

There is real pressure, yet Fury is showing no signs of being affected by it. The former world champion, returning for the second time after 30 months away due to a drug ban, weighed in at 18st 6lbs yesterday, and promptly ignored his opponent, indulging instead in a verbal slanging match with the American Deontay Wilder, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, who will work as an analyst with the US broadcasters Showtime from ringside. The two men were separated by security guards.

Dispatch Pianeta handily, and Fury is likely to head to Las Vegas in November to take on the ‘Bronze Bomber’ for the WBC crown. The Telegraph understands that there are plans to unveil the superfight as early as next week. 

A fight with Wilder, who is unbeaten and the most dangerous puncher in the division, would provide the perfect narrative and a route to the biggest fight in British boxing history against compatriot Anthony Joshua, now the holder of the three world title belts Fury took from Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf in November 2015.