Dereck Chisora picked up and threw a desk as his pre-fight press conference with Dillian Whyte ended in chaos and farce.
The bad blood between the pair had already been evident throughout a 20-minute media session at a Manchester hotel as both fighters traded insults and swore repeatedly.
Chisora eventually lost his temper and threw the top table off the ground, sparking scuffles involving various people in attendance, including security staff.
The two fighters are due to meet in the ring in a British heavyweight title fight and WBC eliminator on the undercard to Saturday's clash between Anthony Joshua and Eric Molina in Manchester.
The incident should not have come as a surprise given the pair had to be separated while appearing on a television programme to promote the fight recently.
Initially it was announced they would hold separate press conferences but it was later decided they should be seated at opposite ends of a long table with a significant security presence at hand.
Those measures proved inadequate as Chisora, who had been goading Whyte throughout but taken plenty of flak himself, banged the desk with his fist and then launched it in Whyte’s direction.
Whyte's trainer Mark Tibbs, who had also joined in the verbal sparring and used some crude language, threw an object back in Chisora's direction.
It now remains to be seen what security measures are taken when the pair are due to meet again for the weigh-in on Friday.
The event had begun calmly enough, with Chisora even saying, “I don’t have much trash-talking to do” and Whyte claiming he was “not going to start swearing”.
Those promises soon proved hollow as the subject of their appearance on a Sky Sports preview programme was brought up.
Chisora, who has a history of unseemly incidents, said: “I do what I want when I want and come fight night you shall see what is going to happen. I am going to drag him into the deep end. I am going to f*** him up.”
Tibbs was the first to respond by calling 32-year-old Chisora a “minge” and telling him he was “going to get f****** seen to”.
“It is going to be career-ending for you,” Tibbs added. “Idiot.”
Whyte then claimed he had scared Chisora in their TV confrontation.
The 28-year-old said: “Me and Dereck both know if we had been left in a room with no security I would have killed him there and then. He was scared.
“When I started letting punches go, he wasn’t throwing no punches. He was terrified. There were about 10 security holding me and one guy stopping him.”
Chisora then mocked Whyte’s appeals to the security staff to let him go, using even more choice language.
This became a running theme through the press conference as promoter Eddie Hearn tried to steer discussion on to the fight itself.
Eventually Chisora snapped, removing his sunglasses and banging the desk as the atmosphere turned even darker.
“Don’t you try to threaten my life and then think I sit down like this and be calm,” he said. “Are you sure you want it to kick off right now because I assure you it can. You take a chill pill.
“Look me in the eyes. If you think I am a p****, I’m a punk, you tell me right now. I am the baddest motherf*****.”
At this point the desk was hurled and chaos ensued. Whyte left the room soon after with Chisora continuing to argue for some time before finally calming down.
