Coming soon to TV: The Great British Face Off!

2012 began with Dereck preparing to meet Vitali though it was supposed to be Vitali's brother Wladimir until David stepped in and stole Wlad causing Dereck to slap Vitali, spit at Wlad and then brawl with David, threatening grievous harm until David left him laying and they decided to become good friends after all.

Meanwhile, Dereck's decision to fight David ended hopes of a second pairing up with Tyson, who in turn was keeping his distance from the other David until the other David killed off that poor Audley character and Tyson lost his temper at the other David not once nor twice but thrice!

Ahem.

If that sounded more like a season of the latest reality TV drama than the state of British heavyweight boxing, then that's because it virtually was.

Nonetheless, the sub-division is currently enjoying its hottest period in terms of general interest and world title aspirations since the glory days of Lennox Lewis.

There is one thing The Pugilist cannot quite decide as of yet, though: is that good, or bad?

The nation (nay, the world) was almost unanimous in its condemnation of David Haye and Dereck Chisora's instantly-infamous brawl in Bavaria - and rightly so. It was unsavoury and unnecessary for any sport or anything, period.

When their respective camps sidestepped and loopholed their way past suspensions, license withdrawals and general sporting conventions to stage the 'Licensed to Thrill' main event at Upton Park, even more scorn was poured on everyone involved and some even declared British boxing as dead in the water.

But come July 14, 30,000 fans whipped up an electric atmosphere in East London for Haye's fifth-round stoppage of 'Del Boy' (with over half of them snapping up their tickets on the first day ) which contained undeniably engrossing action and swung back and forth before the former two-weight world champion's technical superiority shone through.

Having attended the Boelyn that night, TP compared the two fighters and promoter Frank Warren to professional wrestlers in the way they had built up the event, but also pointed out that so long as the end result does not short change paying fans, there's actually nothing wrong with that.

Let's face it: most sports fans also partake in a balanced television diet containing a fair amount of fictional drama as well as reality television, which takes genuine scenarios and manipulates them towards what the audience would watch as much as possible without losing that very loose 'this is real' tag.

And as with all such programming, no matter how clichéd or desperate each new idea gets, people will keep watching until it stops entertaining them.

Up-and-coming heavies David Price and Tyson Fury, at one stage viewed as the antidote to this philosophy seeping its way back into boxing, recently embraced the bosom of dramatic tension with a war of words sparked by a typo-laden Fury, who at the start of the year vacated the British strap currently held by Price as soon as the 2008 Olympic medallist became mandatory.

(Yes, seeping its way back, as decades of boxers dropkicking each other off cars and writing provocative poetry about one another have shown that the sport has seldom ever been without various offbeat attempts to catch attention)

The hardcore British boxing fanbase already knew who Price and Fury were. They also knew a fight between the two had much potential to draw. But to maximise its money- and star-making potential, mainstream interest needs to be amped up as much as possible first.

And it seems as if Fury (or at least those in his ear) has taken heed from the success of 'Licensed To Thrill'.

The 24-year-old had already attempted to use Twitter to stir up interest in a fight with Haye, to which Haye declared 'he would only fight again against a Klitschko'.

Then came the 'hellish' decision to change his stance on fighting Price in the near future, and while his spelling was a source of mockery, it actually garnered even more media attention for the fledgling rivalry.

His online and televised rants are set to land Fury in hot water, but it's likely to be small price to pay in return to the money that can be made. Ratings in almost every sport have proven that we the viewers love a grudge match.

Expect more unsporting twists between the two over the coming months. Expect Haye to reconsider his Klitschko-only vow if a heavyweight belt were to suddenly become vacant and he were offered a fight against a beatable foe for the strap. Expect more run-ins with the BBBofC now that their authority has been publicly and very casually undermined.

Should we be appalled by any or all of these?

If the fights they build toward continue to deliver and finally launch a prominent British presence in the world heavyweight championship picture, then no.

There's far worse happening on television, after all…