Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk had to be pulled apart during an intense face-off in front of Rocky star Sylvester Stallone.
WBC champion Fury and WBA, WBO and IBF champion Usyk will fight to determine the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999.
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The long-awaited showdown was finally confirmed on Thursday and will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 17.
The pair went face-to-face at a press conference in London which turned aggressive and led to both fighters being torn away from each other.
The hostilities began shortly after Stallone made his entrance accompanied by the iconic Rocky theme tune.
After greeting the Hollywood star and posing for photos for the waiting press, the pair faced off and it got heated quickly.
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Within seconds Fury imposed himself on Usyk, bearing his forehead down on the Ukrainian.
An irritated Usyk pushed back against Fury in front of the stunned crowd before both security and Fury’s promoter Frank Warren jumped in to create distance between the fighters.
The Brit then hit Usyk with a verbal tirade, attempting to leave an early psychological marker.
“I'm going to knock you out,” Fury ranted, “P***y with an earring, like a little girl.”
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Usyk’s team responded to Fury with a continuous chant of their fighter’s name.
The antics certainly whetted the appetite of fight fans who anticipated the showdown to take place on December 23.
However, a tougher than expected clash with Francis Ngannou in October helped delay the fight until 2024.
Instead, Anthony Joshua will face Otto Wallin and Deontay Wilder will pit his wits against Joseph Park two days before Christmas in a mega Saudi card.
Usyk unified the WBA, WBO and IBF titles thanks to a unanimous decision win over Joshua in September 2021, before a split decision victory over AJ in August 2022.
He then defended his belts yet again in August after stopping another Brit in Daniel Dubois.
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Fury talked up the quality of a contest between the two current champions but thinks his rival will struggle due to his size.
"We're both undefeated. He's a champion, I'm a champion. It's going to be a fight for the ages," Fury said.
"It's been 24 years since we've had an undisputed champion. The Klitschkos were champions for around 10 years, so there's been 14 years when the other heavyweights couldn't do it.
"We've both been chosen and there can only be one winner. I'm going to become the undisputed champion. More than that, I'm destined to cement my legacy as the number one fighter of this era.
"To do that I've got to beat this little man, which is easier said than done because he's a tricky boxer, slick and all of that.
"But I've seen many like him before and when they fight the big men, they struggle. And he will struggle on February 17. I will break him.
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"He's a middleweight, but it's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog and he's obviously got a lot of fight in him.
"But when you meet a big man who is a lot bigger but also has the fight inside him, let's put it in a nutshell - you're f****d."