Amir Khan threw water over Phil Lo Greco after being taunted by the Canadian at a press conference to promote the British boxer's return to the ring after almost two years away.
Khan's comeback, which comes after a period of marital difficulties and a spell in the "I'm a Celebrity" reality TV jungle, will see him take on Canadian Lo Greco in Liverpool on April 21.
Lo Greco, who has won 28 of his 31 fights, mocked Khan by insisting he had been on a "losing streak" in and out of the ring since losing his last fight against Saul Alvarez in May 2016.
Khan responded to the jibes by throwing water towards Lo Greco at the press conference in Liverpool, prompting security to intervene before Khan insisted he would take the bout as seriously as ever.
"I will train like it's a world-title fight. Greco says maybe I'm past my best. I'm 31 and at the peak of my career," Khan said.
"For me, boxing is the way forward. Boxing put me here and I am going to finish on a high."
Cynics may suggest Khan's antics were designed to reignite his public interest in him since signing with promoter Eddie Hearn, who has made no secret of his desire to make a domestic super-fight against welterweight rival Kell Brook happen.
Brook returns to the ring for the first time since he lost his IBF welterweight title to Errol Spence last year when he faces Sergey Rabchenko in Sheffield next month.
"Sometimes it's a press conference and it's about boxing not about your personal life and I do think Lo Greco took it a little bit too far by saying one or two things I wasn't happy about," Khan told Sky Sports News.
"He's gone too far and even on the roof, when we did the interviews and posed for pictures together, he just kept bugging me and trying to get in my head.
"But now it's time to focus on the fight. It's only going to motivate me to work even harder and make sure I beat this guy - and not just beat him but do it in such quality he will stop sulking. I will let my fists do all the talking."