Tommy Fury rues 'circus' ahead of KSI bout

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Tommy Fury said his boxing fight with YouTuber KSI has become a "circus" after the pair traded insults while separated by perspex glass inside a cage on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).

Fury, the half-brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, will take on KSI in a six-round cruiserweight contest at the Manchester Arena on Saturday.

The build-up to the bout was marred at a press conference on Thursday when bottles were thrown and insults traded.

Animosity has steadily been building between Fury and KSI, who may be relative novices in boxing but have quickly adapted to the sport's habit of pre-fight controversy.

Fury's outspoken father John stepped into a metal cage and threw punches at the transparent partition separating him from KSI, who earlier dodged a bottle thrown from a side of the stage.

WWE star Logan Paul, set to compete in the co-main event bout in Manchester, was left with a cut on his face after a brief brawl with his opponent Dillon Danis before the rivals were separated by security.

"I'm in the crossover world of boxing, it's a circus act," Tommy Fury said.

"We know what we're in for. I'm here to fight. Cut all the other stuff, we're fighting in two days, the talking is done."

The ugly scenes hardly improved the image of YouTube boxing, with this weekend's event not sanctioned by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) but instead by the Professional Boxing Association (PBA).

However, Tommy Fury is adamant his relative experience in the sport in contrast to his rival will become clear when they settle their differences in the ring.

"We all know what's going to happen. There's no way this man can live with me. Who's he fought? He's fought a rapper and the rest are YouTubers. What is going on?" he said.

"In this boxing world, he is a bum. I'm not interested in him. I'm levels above these guys. I've got every single advantage: bigger, stronger, reach, weight. This will be an early night, I promise you.

"I've trained like a demon for 10 weeks for this man and I've sparred everybody, I've been sparring Tyson, been sparring the whole lot of them."

Tommy Fury won his first two professional bouts before catapulting himself to celebrity status with a stint in the popular television show Love Island in 2019.

He has triumphed in another seven fights since then, beating another YouTube fighter in Jake Paul by split decision earlier this year.