British heavyweight Dillian Whyte has joked Robert Helenius may find himself "in Valhalla" following the pair's rendezvous in Cardiff on Saturday.
Whyte (21-1, 16 KOs) referenced the Viking afterlife as he prepares to meet Finland's Helenius (25-1, 16 KOs) looking to force his way into world title contention and, ultimately, a rematch with old rival Anthony Joshua.
Helenius has suggested in the lead-up to the bout that Whyte's aggression can work against him, but the Londoner told ESPN: "Helenius is deluded. He thinks he's a Viking warrior. He might get sent to Valhalla. It might be an early trip for him on Saturday.
"I was in camp with him before but never sparred him. I know he's a good fighter. He has good boxing ability. He carries power. We knew about the fight before and he didn't accept it initially -- maybe he thought I wouldn't train -- but then he eventually accepted it.
"At one stage he was very highly rated and supposed to take over from Wladimir Klitschko. I was around him in camps before but I never got too friendly. I keep my distance in those situations because I've always got one eye on them as a possible future opponent."
Whyte has made no secret of his desire to fight for world honours in 2018 and has called out WBC champion Deontay Wilder consistently for months. There's also the seemingly inevitable rematch with Joshua, with whom 'The Body Snatcher' fought out a British title classic in December 2015.
"It's a bit of a double-edged sword," said Whyte. "I'm not going to watch what Wilder is doing the whole time. I'm just focused on Helenius but I have thought that if I knock Helenius out early, Wilder might fancy it even less than he does already.
"Wilder probably has more power than Helenius but Helenius is definitely an all-round more complete fighter."
Before Carlos Takam was announced as Kubrat Pulev's replacement, Whyte was mentioned as a candidate to step up to challenge for Joshua's IBF and WBA Super crowns at the Principality Stadium -- an opportunity he revealed he would have jumped at.
Whyte added: "If they had come to me and told me about that, I would have accepted the fight and I would be fighting him instead of Carlos Takam. Ideally, it's a rematch that needs building and I'd have 12 weeks preparing for him as the target but if they'd have offered it to me, of course I'd have said yes.
"It's a massive fight if we get it on again. As I said, I'm entirely focused on Helenius but all these huge fights are in the background."