Tony Bellew is not the first fighter to verbally attack you – Shannon Briggs, Dereck Chisora, and Tyson Fury among others have lost their cool. What do you think it is about you that drives potential opponents so crazy?
With big fights come big pressures. It’s all part of the build-up and the tension of a fight. It seems to be quite the running theme of late, being screamed at by boxers wanting to get in the ring with me. They know a fight against me is incredibly commercial, perhaps it frustrates them that they can’t generate those numbers independently. I’ve mellowed with age, I’ve had my time of reacting and responding. Now I tend to take a deep breath and smile. That probably irritates them even more but it keeps me out of trouble.
