There was a telling moment in The Independent's Steve Bunce's eyewitness account of the Chisora/Haye brawl in Munich on Saturday. Bunce wrote of the moment Dereck Chisora headed over to confront David Haye: "It was at this crucial point that press-conference protocol for heavyweights fell down, when nobody in a security shirt appeared to step in front of the two fighters and restrict the confrontation to taunts, promises and threats."
Bunce's point is that the boxing press conference can often spill over into a spot of aggro, shoves, and threats of malice. It's all part of the show and – most importantly – part of building up an audience for the biggest pay-per-view bouts. But when does it go too far? Here are three bloody examples of press conference etiquette crossing the line:
Riddick Bowe's one-two
The former heavyweight champ was fined for a brutal bare-fisted one-two on the face of the off guard Larry Donald in 1994. Bowe's press conference etiquette was so lacking that before a fight against Jorge Luis González in 1995, the two had to be separated by a see-through partition (Bowe having previously thrown a glass at his rival). ind.pn/riddickdon
Bernard Hopkins – flag thrower
A bold move this. Having already angered Puerto Rican rival Felix Trinidad by throwing his country's flag to the ground at a NYC press conference in 2001. The middleweight repeated the trick a few weeks later at a promotion event in a San Juan arena full of Puerto Rican fight fans. The result? A near riot. Top work, Bernard. ind.pn/hopkinsflag
"Larry Holmes kicked me"
Echoes of Haye's cameo here as the late Trevor Berbick barged into rival Holmes's press conference to heckle before their 1981 fight.
The row gradually descended into a street brawl which culminated with Holmes running off the top of a car and drop-kicking Berbick, Hulk Hogan-style. ind.pn/larrykicked
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