Dillian Whyte has branded Tyson Fury’s father John an “idiot” after the 57-year-old had to be held back by his son at Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference.
Three days before Fury defends the WBC heavyweight title against Whyte, the opponents went face-to-face for the first time since their bout was announced.
While Whyte, 34, skipped last month’s first pre-fight press conference as well as this Tuesday’s open workout, he was present at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday to trade words with Fury, 33, at the venue for this Saturday’s bout.
Proceedings were surprisingly cordial, right up until the face-off, during which John Fury began to shout at a member of Whyte’s team. Tyson Fury held back his father, while Whyte also prevented the scene from escalating into something physical.
“Tyson Fury’s dad needs to relax,” Whyte told BT Sport afterwards. “My man’s 600 years old and he’s coming forward, and they’re trying not to let my guys enter the stage.
“I said to him: ‘John, calm down, you’re an adult. You keep shouting and screaming like a child. This is me and your son’s day. Why are you getting involved?’ He’s trying to get in front of his son.”
Whyte insisted that he was not surprised at how low-key the press conference had been up until that moment, suggesting that the cordial interactions between himself and Fury were a result of mutual respect between the former sparring partners.
The challenger then stressed that the heated end to the press conference had stemmed from John Fury’s actions.
“John was trying to start something,” Whyte said. “And it’s stupid, it’s a big fight. He wants to rob 94,000 fans of a fight. He’s a real idiot.”
Saturday’s main-event contest at Wembley marks Fury’s first fight on British soil since 2018.
It also marks the Briton’s second defence of the WBC heavyweight belt, which he won from Deontay Wilder in 2020 and retained against the American last October.
Fury (31-0-1, 22 knockouts) won both of those fights via stoppage, having fought Wilder to a controversial split draw in 2018 in the rivals’ first clash.
Meanwhile, Fury’s compatriot Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) last competed in March 2021, knocking out Alexander Povetkin to avenge his own stoppage loss to the Russian from August 2020.
