With fans having to wait to see Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte together on stage after Whyte missed promotional events for the fight, some will have disappointed with the jovial nature of the meeting. The pair were laughing at each other's jokes and generally giving an air of mutual respect during the press conference before a brawl nearly broke out during the face-off.
The pair faced off before posing for photos and then faced off again at which point John Fury appeared to take exception to a member of Whyte's entourage. Tyson had to step in to stop his father from starting a fight on stage and both men appeared to act as peacemakers as tempers threatened of boil over on stage.
Whyte encouraged his entourage to move away before shaking hands with Fury in what appeared to be an amicable solution to what could have been a fiery exchange. However, later in the day Whyte appeared to raise tensions by branding the 57-year-old John Fury as an 'idiot', when speaking to the written press.
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"Tyson Fury's dad needs to relax," he said. "My man is 600 years old and stepping forward, trying not to let my guys on the stage." He added: "I said 'John calm down you're an adult, you keep screaming and shouting like a child this is me and Tyson's day, why are you getting involved, this is me and your son's day, take it easy'. John was trying to start something, he wants to rob the fans of a fight, he's a real idiot."
John Fury is known for keeping close to proceedings during his son's fights and has been involved heavily in promotional events throughout his son's career. While fans enjoy such encounters, the fighters on this occasion appear to be looking to avoid any drama ahead of the big night in front of 94,000 people at Wembley on Saturday night.
