Tyson Fury told Dillian Whyte he wouldn't allow him to hold his belts - three years after Anthony Joshua handed his to Andy Ruiz Jr before losing them in the ring days later.
Joshua, who first faced Ruiz Jr in June 2019, handed his belts over to his Mexican rival following their fight-week press conference. He would go on to be stopped in the seventh round before winning back his titles in Saudi Arabia six months later.
Fury and Whyte faced off twice at Wembley yesterday, including on the hallowed turf, with both staged events passing off largely without incident. And when they stepped on to the pitch, Fury said to his heavyweight rival: "Don't do it. I got told years ago not to hold someone else's belts."
Fury will put his WBC and Ring Magazine belts on the line at Wembley on Saturday night - as well as his status as the lineal heavyweight champion. The unbeaten, 6"9' giant is the odds-on favourite to prevail against his rival who has waited more than three years for his shot at a world title.
The rivals held a respectful press conference yesterday with the only flare-up involving their respective teams, including Fury's dad John. His son stepped in to prevent a fracas, and later said: "Sometimes you have to be a bit diplomatic. Both teams were up on the stage so it was up to me to calm it all down and sort it out.
"Both men are getting paid to do a fight, why do it for free three days before? There would be no point paying to see it. Let’s save it all for the night and not all end up in a police van. It was nice to see Dillian after so long. It’s been seven years since I last saw him, it was good."
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Fury, ahead of making the second defence of the title he claimed two years ago, also insisted he has left no stone unturned in his preparations and claimed his British rival has been unfairly misjudged.
“I think everybody is underestimating how good this fight is going to be,” he added. “I see the odds and laugh at them because they’re obviously coming from people who don’t know boxing. This is a heavyweight boxing fight, anybody can win with one punch. If I’m not on my A-game then that man’s going to knock my head right off my shoulders.
“I’m going to have to be on form to beat him and he will have to perform at his best to beat me. 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 or (Wladimir) Klitschko. He’ll be fighting the best Tyson Fury.”
