Lou DiBella admits the chaotic weigh-in scenes got “a little out of control” as Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr.’s respective camps almost came to blows.
DiBella, who is Kambosos Jr.’s promoter, himself was involved in a brief altercation after the weigh-ins. Three members of Haney’s entourage attempted to push past a security guard to go into an elevator and make their way down to Haney’s dressing room.
However, the security guard did not let them through and a brief shoving match occurred.
An irate DiBella almost flew off the handle as tensions threatened to boil over.
“I will throw you the f*** out, I have no issue with that, I know you’re team Haney”, DiBella yelled.
DiBella also told the man to not “f***ing disrespect” the security guard like he did.
Thankfully it quickly calmed down, but it could have quickly become a dangerous situation – much like the absurd scenes on stage only a few minutes earlier.
‘Out of control’: Fracas as Kambosos, Haney make weight for huge world title rematch
Watch Haney v Kambosos Jr 2 LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo, Sunday October 16 from 11am AEST. ORDER NOW >
After Kambosos Jr. and Haney made weight, the rivals shared an icy face-off in front of a raucous crowd in the foyer at Rod Laver Arena.
But it quickly erupted when Haney flexed in the face of ‘Ferocious’, as both looked to get in front of one another on the stage.
DiBella did his best to keep both sides at bay in the middle of the stage as plenty of colourful language was tossed between both camps.
One man from Haney’s entourage who went on stage was also physically removed from the venue by a member of security.
It wasn’t just on the stage where a fight threatened to break out, as members from Haney and Kambosos Jr.’s respective entourages traded verbal barbs in the crowd and nearly came to blows.
MORE NEWS
Haney’s lofty Floyd Mayweather goal as insider reveals truth about ‘humble’ champ
‘What’s your excuse now?’: Family feud explodes as Haney’s father takes aim at Kambosos ‘bulls***’
‘That’s f***ed up’: Kambosos, Haney clash as wild presser derailed by duelling dads
MORE BOXING NEWS
‘Send him into retirement’: Haney‘s brutal ‘humble pie’ promise to Aussie Kambosos
Kambosos leaves promoter ‘frustrated as hell’ — but believing Aussie can shock world
‘There’s no way’: Champ bristles at question as Kambosos taunted in tense face-off
Although DiBella conceded it’s all part of the game, he’s thankful no-one really got hurt.
“Yeah it was a little out of control, but you’re going to see that,” DiBella said.
“It’s very easy to go from that to something dangerous.
“That being said, this is a fight. This is a prize fight. This is a lot of emotion here, there’s a lot of adrenaline here. So it’s not shocking and ultimately no one got hurt thank god and everyone was fine.
“That being said, maybe we’re going to get a better fight. I think there’s going to be a lot more passion in this fight, I think there’s going to be a lot more fire in this fight. I think the emotion we saw up there is a reflection of that.”
DiBella took aim at the types of people who somehow managed to get on stage and took a glass half-full perspective on the craziness.
“People’s personal jewellers, people’s buddies, people’s friends from home, those people can’t be allowed to rush the stage,” DiBella said.
“You get concerned when you see stuff like that. But we were able to handle it, we were prepared for it. I think that’s the last of it.
“Now you’re going to see all the aggression in the ring. I’m never happy or pleased about something that’s dangerous.
“I’m not condoning what happened there and I made a big point in actively involved in breaking it up. But if there’s anything positive to be taken out of it, it is that there’s a lot of emotion around this fight.”
And DiBella, who was recently inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame, noted there will be increased security presence on Sunday to ensure the only fights tomorrow take place in the ring.
“For the most part, the real true disrespect wasn’t the two fighters, other than they were pushing each other a little bit,” DiBella said.
“That always goes on, trying to get the flex next together. There’s a lot of entourage here on both sides, a huge entourage on Devin’s side.
“We’re going to have security everywhere, we’re going to make sure nothing like that happens again. I don’t think it will, it happens, but I don’t think it will happen again.”
And even though the smack talk from both camps hasn’t been at the same levels compared to their first encounter, DiBella had a feeling that something like this had been brewing.
“It didn’t come out of nowhere,” DiBella said.
“There’s a lot of history between these two guys. For months before the first fight, George talked a lot of smack. The last few months since George’s defeat, Devin’s team has talked the smack. They’re the ones now at the top of the mountain.
“Everything is at stake for both men on Sunday. When there’s that much at stake and there’s a little bit of bad blood, this can happen.”
