By Shaun Murphy-
Dillian Whyte referred to Tyson Fury’s dad, John Fury, as ‘stupid’ and an ‘idiot’, after a generally calm press conference nearly deteriorated into a melee as a result of an argument between John Fury and Whyte’s brother, Deen, over the number of people allowed on stage for a camera face off
He accused John of trying to ‘rob 90,000 fans of a fight’ after the pair collided at Wednesday’s otherwise respectful press conference.
The Gypsy King and The Body Snatcher were in good spirits as they met for the first time ahead of their record-breaking showdown at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night – but a melee almost broke out after John started yelling at Whyte’s team, notably his brother Dean.
The atmosphere between the boxing pair had been amicable and respectful until time for the square up, and argument appeared to break out between John Fury, Tyson’s father, and Dean Whyte, Dillian’s brother, at which point the two fighters called for calm.
Tyson Fury’s dad needs to relax,’ Whyte told BT Sport after the press conference had ended. ‘My man’s 600 years old, and he’s stepping forward, trying not to let my guys get on the stage.
‘I told him, “John calm down, you’re an adult. You keep shouting and screaming like a child, relax. It’s our day. Why are you getting yourself involved, this is mine and your son’s day.”
‘He’s always trying to get in front of his son. I just said old man take it easy.’
He continued: ‘John was trying to start something. He’s stupid because it’s a big fight. He’s trying to rob 90,000 fans of a fight. John Fury is an idiot, he’s a real idiot.’
The British boxers’ mutual respect was evident, and Fury insisted he will need to be on top form to be victorious on fight night.
‘Dillian’s a good fighter, he’s big, strong, tough, game, he’s got good punch power that’s knocked out a lot of men,’ Fury said. ‘He’s got a lot of experience in the fight game.
‘He’s definitely a man that needs a lot of respect and that’s what I’ve given him.
‘I’ve done everything I can possibly do to train for this. I’ve trained as hard for Dillian as I have for [Deontay] Wilder. He’ll be fighting the best Tyson Fury.’
“I just prevented a big ruckus on stage, people want a big ruckus at a press conference, they want to see all this screaming and shouting and punching, but listen, let the two boxers do a fight and enjoy it, it’s not for entourages to get involved or anything like that and to be professional and say ‘let’s step back, let me and him do what we’ve got to do and that’s it’,”
Confident: Dillian Whyte
Fury told BT Sport in the immediate aftermath. “We’re here to a do a fight, the man is doing his job, getting paid to do it and so am I. People are here for a real fight, we don’t need to scream and shout at our press conference.
“It was respectful stuff, the man’s done his job, he’s obviously trained, so have I, we’re going to see a good fight Saturday night, end of. Nothing more to say.”
“I just prevented a big ruckus on stage, people want a big ruckus at a press conference, they want to see all this screaming and shouting and punching, but listen, let the two boxers do a fight and enjoy it, it’s not for entourages to get involved or anything like that and to be professional and say ‘let’s step back, let me and him do what we’ve got to do and that’s it’,”
Fury said of what had occurred: ‘I’ve just prevented a big ruckus on stage,’ he said. ‘People want a big ruckus, they want to see punching and screaming, but let the two boxers do a fight and enjoy it. It’s not for entourages to get involved.
‘We’re here to do a fight. People are in for a real fight. We don’t need to scream and shout.’
He’s a good fighter, he’s a strong, solid man,” said Fury of Whyte. “He’s big, strong, tough, game, he has good punch power and knocked out a lot of men.
“He’s got a lot of experience in the fight game, so he’s definitely a man that needs a lot of respect. I’ve left no stones unturned.
“I’ve trained as hard for Dillian as I have for [Deontay] Wilder, [Wladimir] Klitschko or anybody.”