Tyson Fury claimed he was close to trading blows with Francis Ngannou during their heated spat earlier this week.

The Gypsy King was in attendance for a fight week press conference ahead of Ngannou’s clash with Anthony Joshua on Friday night.

Asked about his future plans the former UFC champion insisted he would like to rematch Fury, and also claimed he felt that he deserved to have his hand raised when they first fought back in October.

‘One [a victory] over Tyson – one more over Tyson, because I had the first one [already]! I’ve got the first one, and I intend to get the second one.

Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury engaged in a heated exchange during a press conference this week

Fury revealed that he considering attacking Ngannou for his comments at the event

Tyson fired back, calling the 37-year-old a ‘dosser’, before Ngannou insisted Fury’s only chance is due to the rules of boxing limiting his full skillset.

‘I tell you, your only chance is in the boxing ring, with boxing rules. When you step off for that ring, you better stay five metres away before I stop your s***, because if I lose it, you’re gonna have a really bad time.’

Never one to take such a claim lying down, Fury fired back and insisted the only reason he didn’t fight Ngannou at the press conference was out of respect for Turki Al-Sheikh.

‘Let me tell you, if he comes outside for me he won’t be walking away from it and that’s a fact.’ The WBC champion told BoxNation.

‘What do you think I’m gonna do let him elbow me and punch me in the face and whatever, grab me and break my arm?

‘Let me tell you something straight from the heart, if I didn’t have as much respect as I do for Turki Al-Sheikh, I’d have got up the other night and punched his **** right in for him, but I didn’t want to cancel another show for Turki.

‘He wouldn’t be leaving the outside and I’ll tell you that. If I’d have got up on set about him the other night at the press conference there would’ve been another show cancelled.

‘What happens if he would have got a cut or smashed his jaw or eye socket or whatever? There you go. And I would have been in big trouble as well.

‘I would have got done. All the big mouths always run to do the law when they get a proper. So yeah, it’d been probably on a attempted murder charge or something with the useless dosser. So I’m happy.’

Ngannou floored Fury but the Gypsy King emerged victorious when the pair clashed in October

When the pair squared off inside the ring back in October, Ngannou exceeded all expectations by pushing Fury to his limit across ten hard-fought rounds.

However, the Gypsy King ultimately emerged victorious on that night in Riyadh, despite having been dropped in the third round.

Fury is currently scheduled to take on Oleksandr Usyk on May 18, in a bout set to determine the heavyweight division’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999.