Scores look set to be settled once and for all between Tony Bellew and David Haye, with the two British heavyweights set to meet again at the O2 on December 17.

The Hayemaker has called for a rematch ever since losing their first fight back in March. However, such a prospect looked dead in the water in August, with the two unable to agree terms.

Not only that, Bellew was also in negotiations with Andre Ward, who is considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

However, Haye-Bellew 2 has been resurrected, with Haye claiming that all that remains is for Bellew to sign after all terms had been agreed between the two teams.

For his part, Bellew has been far from slow in stoking the fires ahead of the likely showdown.

Bad blood between the two first came to the fore when Bellew dubbed Haye "Sideshow Bob" and accused the Londoner of "conning the British public" before their first encounter.

This then spilled over when the two came to blows at their pre-fight press conference.

"If we ever do fight again and I defeat him again that will be the end of him, that will literally be the spade in the floor burying him, he will be finished, he will not be back. Will that give me great satisfaction, no not really.

"I want to see David go on and do great things, he’s a brilliant fighter, I was a fan of David Haye when I was growing up,"  Bellew told Betsafe.com.

Much will depend on how well Haye recovers from the sixth round injury to his right Achilles tendon, which ultimately led to his 11th round stoppage by Bellew, who also injured his hand.

Haye also has a new man in his corner, Cuban Ismael Salas, after splitting with former trainer Shane McGuigan in June.

Both fighters will also have to raise themselves mentally for what could be one last hurrah.

Haye, 36, took a three-year break from the ring in 2011 after losing to Wladimir Klitschko, whilst Bellew considered retiring post-Haye after claiming he had done it all.

Either way, Bellew says it could be short.

“If it does happen again, then it can all end in the first ten seconds, it really can. If I hit him clean with a left hook he’s gone, but if he hits me with a big right hand I’m gone too.

"I am not a fantasist I am a realist, and I have always said this, and this is what I told him before the first fight, what happens when I defeat you and he said, ‘that cannot happen, that cannot happen, that cannot happen.'

"And I said but you have to understand it can, because we are just two men, and either of us can render each other unconscious at any point, that’s what we can both do to people."