Tuesday 18 December 2018 10:08, UK
Herbie Hide tells Sky Sports about creating heavyweight havoc, demanding respect, and winning world titles as he blazed a trail for Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.
A table had been turned over, violent threats had been made at a press conference, but years later an apology was being offered.
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Hide, a combustible fighter with a concussive punch, had vented his rage at British rival Danny Williams, over a decade before Chisora hurled furniture at Whyte in front of the stunned media.
The vengeful Hide would later come across his adversary in a chance meeting in Spain, giving Williams the opportunity to utter words of regret.
"He was apologising to me, he was actually shaking," Hide recalled. "I looked at his arm, I looked at my arm, and his arms are as big as my legs. And he was apologising, nervous, I swear to God.
"All the people that he was nervous [of], apologising, and I'm thinking 'yeah, I'm a bad man you know'."
Standing at 6ft 2in tall, giving away a sizeable weight advantage, Hide had to use other means to compete with the biggest men in boxing.
He would put heavy items in his pockets and weights around his ankles to appear more of a physical match, but Hide also possessed a dark, menacing demeanour that was unleashed whenever he sensed an inkling of disrespect.
A succession of ruthless stoppages had allowed Hide to be offered a shot at Michael Bentt, a newly-crowned WBO champion, and the voluntary challenger intended to remain civil.
He was just like 'yeah, yeah, yeah,' like I'm a fool. I didn't like that at all.
"At the press conference, I went to him and said 'Michael, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to fight for your title'.
"I shook his hand. He hardly said anything. He was just like 'yeah, yeah, yeah,' like I'm a fool. I didn't like that at all. I always tried to be respectful, saying thanks very much, because I wasn't No 1 contender, and I said thank you very much.
"From right there, I didn't like him. He just brushed my hand off and I thought 'what an arrogant b*****d'.
"That was really what sparked it. From right then, I didn't like him, so every little thing he did, I wasn't having it. I just realised he was arrogant, and didn't like it at all."
Hide's determination to stand his ground led to one of the most infamous pre-fight bust-ups, with tempers boiling over in front of the media as both fighters traded blows, ripped expensive suits, and rolled around in the puddles outside a London hotel.
The Brit would bring an end to their ugly feud, halting Bentt in the seventh round to claim the WBO belt at The Den, former home of Millwall Football Club.
"I felt great, it was like 'wow' I've achieved something in my life," admitted Hide, but his brief reign would be ended by a first defence against Riddick Bowe in Las Vegas.
Hide climbed off the canvas on a number of occasions, staggering Bowe in the fourth with a defiant combination, but was eventually stopped in the sixth round.
Aged only 23, Hide concedes that he needed more experience before battling 'Big Daddy', although Bowe later referred to him as the hardest puncher he ever fought.
"I should have fought one or two people before fighting Bowe. Power is one thing, I've always had power. You can be as big as you like. Certain people can punch, and I can punch."
Those heavy-handed qualities were evident when Hide toppled Tony Tucker inside two rounds to regain his WBO title, defending it twice with early knockouts before he came up against the formidable Vitali Klitschko.
A perilous title defence against the towering Ukrainian became even more concerning as Hide was distracted by taunts from compatriot Williams at their pre-fight press conference, and the incensed champion had security straining to prevent a physical altercation.
"He was terrified that he had upset me in the press conference," said Hide. "When I look at it now, I think, how did I make them feel like that?"
That red mist still seemed to engulf Hide, whose wild attempts to chop down Klitschko would lead to him suffering a second-round knockout loss.
Without a world title, Hide would turn his attention to domestic disputes and a grudge fight against Williams would elude him, despite an initial fight agreement, while his presence at an early Audley Harrison bout sparked riotous scenes at York Hall.
Hide repeatedly referred to the Olympic gold medallist as 'Audrey' and any thoughts of reconciliation were angrily dismissed when they crossed paths in Las Vegas, although the two men would never share a ring.
"Both of them, I would have liked to knock out. But I like Danny Williams now, to be honest, I've spoke to Danny quite a few times. Danny's a nice guy. Audley, I've never liked him, I never will like him.
"Audley Harrison was a sparring partner to me. When he got to the Olympics, he started bad-mouthing everybody. Audley Harrison, Danny Williams, you know, I f****d both of them up anyway, in the gym, so that's good enough. We didn't fight, but I messed both of them up anyway."
An eventual move down to cruiserweight, a division more fitting for his smaller frame, came too late to deliver a successful ending for Hide, who rarely follows the sport after his turbulent career blew itself out in 2010.
Whyte and Chisora walk among the current heavyweights and Hide accepts that he might not have been able to pull off the same deception and destruction in the top division.
"Right now, the Anthony Joshuas and Tyson Furys, they are both seven foot tall. But me, I got away with whatever I did.
"Today, it might not have worked, but it worked then."
Watch Dillian Whyte vs Derek Chisora 2, and the undercard including David Price vs Tom Little, Cristofer Rosales vs Charlie Edwards and Ryan Walsh vs Reece Bellotti, live from The O2, Saturday, December 22, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book online here.
