Things got heated as Dillian Whyte took on Jermaine Franklin ahead of their fight on Saturday night.
The Body Snatcher is looking to get back into the win column after coming up short against Tyson Fury who knocked him out in six rounds in their world heavyweight title fight in April.
Whyte, 34, will face Franklin, 29, at the OVO Arena, Wembley on Saturday as he makes his comeback.
The pair came face to face after a final press conference on Thursday and it all went amicably during the staring.
But Franklin’s promoter, Dmitry Salita, then stepped in and urged his fighter to tell Whyte he would knock him out.
Salita then appeared to push the British heavyweight before security intervened to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
Whyte reacted to the unnecessary physical contact, as did his promoter, Eddie Hearn, who was the first person to push Salita away.
FACE-AUX 👀@DillianWhyte versus @JermaineFrankl6#WhyteFranklin pic.twitter.com/Nhpyz9Vbw7
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) November 24, 2022
Whyte previously exchanged words with Franklin’s coach Jesse Addison during the press conference.
Addison had called Whyte an “injured lion wandering the jungle” and said his man was a “healthy lion” who would destroy him.
Whyte seemed angry at the suggestion his career was in the buffers following his loss to Fury, having also failed against Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin.
He made fun of Addison’s American accent and said, “I don’t care if you’re a retiree, I’ll smack the shit out of you if you keep talking.”
Dillian Whyte exchanging words with Jermaine Franklin’s trainer at the presser ahead of their fight on Saturday: “I don’t care if you’re a retiree, I’m going to smack you if you keep talking.”
[📽️ @MatchroomBoxing] pic.twitter.com/L8BfYCap4U
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) November 24, 2022
Despite a perfect record of 21 fights, Franklin takes a giant leap forward in opposition after picking up notable victories over Rydell Booker and Jerry Forrest.
However, should he beat Whyte this weekend, the 29-year-old would be the favorite to take on Anthony Joshua, who is currently looking for an opponent after losing back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk.
Hearn recently outlined plans for Joshua’s highly anticipated return, he said: “You’re going to see him fight maybe at the end of February, but probably March.
“We were going through some opponents tonight and I think he’s probably going to have the rest of the year and start camp in early January.”
“I couldn’t tell AJ a fight that he doesn’t do [accept]…He just wants to fight everyone
“It’s just a question of whether he has an easier fight before he gets into a Deontay Wilder or a Dillian Whyte basically.
“I think Otto Wallin is a very fair fight for AJ. Filip Hrgovic is a great fighter, he is IBF mandatory. I think the winner of Dillian Whyte over Jermaine Franklin is a very, very strong favorite for his next fight.
After meeting as amateurs, Whyte and Joshua fought as professionals again in 2015 in what turned out to be a fiery British title fight that ended in a vicious knockout in favor of AJ.
A win over Franklin this weekend would not only put Whyte’s career back on track, but could also lead to a mega-money matchup with his biggest rival.