David Haye and Tony Bellew should be protected from each other after an unnecessary face-off turns nasty

The hate spreads much further than the two men who will be in the ring on 4 March with Eddie Hearn and Dave Coldwell ready and willing to trade verbal insults

Tony Bellew and David Haye will need to be protected from their very real anger in the months, days and critical hours before they are left alone in the ring at O2 Arena in March.

After a funny, often awkward and brutally frank exchange of dithering opinions at the conference to officially announce their non-title fight, there was a dubious face-to-face that was a solitary blocked slap away from horrible violence. Nobody was smiling as each was grabbed, dragged away and then placed behind a human wall.

Both had raised their hands above their waists, a tiny act of defiance and statement of intent, as their heads came closer and their excitable tempers flared. The inevitable scramble of hefty hired hands to stop a real punch or beefy slap connecting was unpleasant. It was also unnecessary; they have a real hate, there is no comedy, no intentional hype attached and in future they need to be contained behind both security and six-feet of neutral turf. The event had sold-out minutes before the conference started and there was no need for the final act.

Before the conference turned really nasty there had been a raw exchange of words, with the emphasis on things left previously unsaid and very little humour involved. Bellew's trainer Dave Coldwell, who had worked for Haye when he was world heavyweight champion, was ridiculed after a couple of comments.

"What can Coldwell do for him?" asked Haye. "He was in charge of my t-shirts! I'm expecting some lovely Bellew t-shirts by fight night." It was a personal attack, not part of the sideshow. However, Coldwell had said that Haye was older and slower, and he had said it in such a way that it was horribly dismissive, so he was not a total top-table innocent.

Bellew was not happy with the personal assault on the man he credits with saving his career and he countered: "He hates it when I remind him that he is skint." said Bellew. "He keeps saying that he doesn't need to fight me, but that is rubbish. He needs the money, look at him, he looks like a bum. He is desperate for the money from this fight; he's blown his money and he needs me."

Haye just shook his head and then picked on Eddie Hearn the promoter, the man that made it possible. "Why does it always have to be the Eddie Hearn show?" Haye asked. "Eddie Hearn will be shut up, Bellew will be unconscious. It will be a pleasure to do both of those things. Why does Eddie Hearn never let his fighter's develop - he thinks he is the attraction. What has he done?"

Hearn dropped his professional smile and tartly replied: "I made this happen, I'm paying you and you are fighting for me. That's what I have done."

Haye interrupted, by now his voice agitated and vicious. "After Bellew I will do the same to (Anthony) Joshua and put you out of business. Your dad was a great promoter, you only promote yourself," Haye said. This was not knockabout stuff, these were assaults that had crossed a line. It was nasty, compulsive for 20 long minutes, but also highly toxic.

In the aftermath, with both boxers in different parts of the Park Lane hotel and both still prowling, Haye insisted that there had not been a request for him to drop any weight. Haye has been over 20 pounds heavier than Bellew for a long time, a heavyweight since 2009. Right now Bellew weighs 199 pounds, Haye closer to 230 pounds and it was assumed Haye would be asked to make 208 or 210 pounds.

"They never asked me to lose weight because they know they have no chance at any weight - this is a money fight for him," Haye claimed. "He is desperate, he is scared and he will believe anybody that tells him he can win. This is not a movie." Bellew had a starring role in the latest Rocky franchise, Creed, earlier this year.

They had to be separated by bouncers with Bellew heavily restrained (Getty)

"Listen, Haye is an incredible athlete and I'm a little fatty," added Bellew. "But, I love fighting and he hates it - this is what I love to do, he has to do it because he's not got any money. He makes out he will fight anybody at any time, but he is the biggest diva in boxing. He has made so many demands for this fight. I just want him to be there, that's my demand."

It seems like a simple request, one that both boxers should be able to keep providing they are kept at a safe distance until the first bell.