Former WBC cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KOs) has revealed the details of a recent phone conversation with Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 KOs), who previously held the WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO heavyweight world titles.
In the last few weeks, the boxer have traded verbal shots in the press and on social media.
Bellew was scheduled to fight next month at the O2 Arena in London in a rematch with David Haye, who withdrew with a bicep injury. The Haye rematch is being rescheduled for next March or May.
Promoter Eddie Hearn, who handles Bellew, has spoken to both fighters about agreeing a deal and there is interest on both sides.
Fury has been out of the ring since shocking Wladimir Klitschko for the WBA, IBF, IBO, WBO belts in November 2015. Fury dropped the titles last year to focus on the state of his mental health.
According to Bellew, Fury basically warned him that their potential contest would be a one-sided wipeout - but the liverpool fighter believes he can beat the Gypsy giant.
"I spoke to him a little while back. We had a chat and we went over a few things and that was it," said Bellew to Sky Sports.
"There wasn't really much to say besides 'I want to fight you, you want to fight me. You're Ring belt magazine champion, I like your belt, I want to punch your face in. In his defence, it's like, 'listen you haven't got a chance, I'm going to punch your face in.'
"Tyson Fury is a man of his word, so he's good to deal with. A brilliant fighter, but I definitely reckon the way things have gone and the way the land lies at the moment, I definitely reckon I can beat him."
Fury is currently training for a planned return in 2018 and aims to reclaim his license to box in the next few weeks. He has a hearing scheduled with UK-Anti Doping, who claim the boxer tested positive for a banned substance in early 2015.
"Tyson's got a long way to go, he's got various hearings to go through, but the thing that is most clear about me and Tyson - we want to fight each other, so that's there for everyone to see," Bellew said.
