Pre-fight punch ups

Dereck Chisora and Dillian Whyte have already come to blows outside the ring, evoking memories of other famous heavyweights who just could not wait to put their gloves on…

Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis

Perhaps the ugliest example of heavyweight thuggery took place at the height of Mike Tyson’s volatility in 2002, years after his in-ring vulnerabilities had been exposed.

Finally due to challenge for Lennox Lewis’ world titles in Tennessee (Tyson couldn’t get a license in any major boxing state), a brawl erupted at a press conference. Tyson, snarling and gesticulating, was introduced on stage first and made a beeline towards Lewis when the champion appeared afterwards.

The Brit’s infamous mentality was to be the last man standing in any room. Tyson swung, Lewis bludgeoned him back. Desperate (and brave, perhaps crazy) security guards intervened, but the punches exchanged were violent. Tyson was accused of biting Lewis, and WBC president Jose Sulaiman claimed to have been knocked unconscious, later suing the aggressor Tyson for $56 million.

Tyson would part with $335,000 after admitting to biting Lewis’ leg but, six months later, was a shell of his former self in an eighth-round stoppage loss.

Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier

‘The Greatest’ was a philanthropist, the ultimate sporting legend who impacted society like no other, but even Muhammad Ali was ready for a ruck if one broke out.

Smokin’ Joe Frazier was his willing adversary, and not just in a trio of defining bouts for both fighters. A fourth, brief battle broke out in the television studios of New York’s ABC, which now serves as an amusing side-note to their visceral rivalry.

Frazier had won a 15-round decision in the ‘Fight of the Century’ three years prior but, as the 1974 rematch loomed, a pair of promotional appearances were scheduled that required the fighters to interact. Eleven days out, Ali had belittled Frazier’s accomplishments, skills and, well, everything else about him. Ahead of their final TV appearance, two days before the rematch, a fuming Frazier had to be coaxed into showing up.

The idea was that they would re-watch their first match, and discuss it. To the delight of everyone except the raging Frazier, an argument began about who needed the most …

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