Renowned combat sports reporter Ariel Helwani recently shared that facing John Fury was a far more daunting experience than being caught amidst a pre-bout scuffle.
During a press conference on Thursday, an altercation broke out between Logan Paul and Dillon Danis. Paul ended up with bruises and a bloody face after an unexpected hit from a microphone. But Helwani used his fast thinking to get out of the way just before things went physical.
Despite some light-hearted banter from fans, the 41-year-old stands by his actions. He expressed, “A lot of people online have been mocking me for getting out of harm’s way.”
“I may look like a fool, guys. I am no fool. I realised that escalated very quickly and was going to escalate even worse. I went this way and then I turned out of harm’s way. I was hiding behind the ring girls, and I was very much out of harm’s way at that point.”
“I wanted nothing to do with that. I would not be sitting here talking to you if I would’ve stood there.”
Interestingly, Helwani confessed that his interaction with John Fury left him much more apprehensive about his safety.
During the face-off between Tyson Fury’s son and KSI, John Fury disrupted the proceedings by launching blows against the barrier that had been placed in place to keep them apart.
Helwani attempted to mediate but ended up in the line of fire.
Reflecting on the incident, Helwani said, “I tried to meddle and diffuse the situation and then he came after me. I thought we were on good terms, so I wanted none of that smoke.”
“In fact, that exchange was more terrifying than the bottle potentially hitting me in the head. I would say though, it’s not about him, and I wish he would let the fighters – his son and KSI – have their moment.”
“Now it’s been two press conferences that have been interrupted by him. I don’t want that smoke, but I’m just saying if I were Misfits, DAZN, etc, I would say, ‘Could you just chill out for a second?’”
“In that moment, I’d prefer if maybe he could pipe down a little bit.”