Tommy Fury promised an “early night” in his showdown against KSI at a chaotic press conference that saw the pair sling insults at one another while separated by perspex glass inside a cage.
Meanwhile, Logan Paul was left with a cut on his face after coming to blows with bitter rival Dillon Danis before the duo were separated by security ahead of their co-main event bout.
Animosity has steadily been building between Fury and KSI, who may be relative novices in boxing but the fame they have found outside the ropes means their fight this Saturday is heavily anticipated.
While they traded barbs laced with profanity as they came head-to-head 48 hours before their contest at a sold-out Manchester Arena, it was Fury’s outspoken father John who loomed large over proceedings.
Fury Sr stepped into a metal cage when invited to and threw punches at the transparent partition separating him from KSI, who earlier dodged a bottle thrown from a side of the stage.
The scenes hardly improved the image of so-called YouTube boxing – this weekend’s event is not sanctioned by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) – but Fury is adamant him being steeped in the sport in contrast to his rival will become clear when they settle their differences in the ring.
“We all know what’s going to happen,” said the younger brother of Tyson Fury. “There’s no way this man can live with me. Who’s he fought? He’s fought a rapper and the rest are YouTubers. What is going on?
“In this boxing world, he is a bum. I’m not interested (in him). I’m levels above these guys. I’ve got every single advantage: bigger, stronger, reach, weight. This will be an early night, I promise you.
“I’ve trained like a demon for 10 weeks for this man and I’ve sparred everybody, I’ve been sparring Tyson, been sparring the whole lot of them.”
Fury is a boxer by trade and won his first three professional bouts before catapulting himself to celebrity status with a stint in the highly-popular television show Love Island in 2019.
He has triumphed in another six fights since then – beating another YouTube fighter in Jake Paul by split decision earlier this year – and now takes on KSI in a six-round cruiserweight fight.
“I’m in the crossover world of boxing, it’s a circus act,” Fury added. “We know what we’re in for. I’m here to fight. Cut all the other bulls**t, we’re fighting in two days, the talking is done.”
Two-time world heavyweight title challenger Derek Chisora lent another peculiar edge to the spectacle as he appeared to clash with security shortly after Fury and KSI stepped into the cage.
Logan Paul and Danis were also supposed to face-off inside the cage but that was cancelled after an ugly clash between the pair. Paul appeared to underarm a bottle at Danis, who responded by throwing a microphone which left his adversary bloodied as security swarmed the stage and separated the rivals.
