Tony Bellew wasted no time in calling out Tyson Fury after he defeated David Haye on May 5.

“I’d love Tyson Fury,” Bellew said. “I’d love to knock Tyson Fury out. I know people think I’m crazy but I know I can do it.”

It was in late 2017 when talk of Bellew fighting Fury began.

There are many who believe it will never happen, and it’s easy to understand why when you consider the Evertonian has boxed the majority of his career as a cruiserweight and light-heavyweight.

To go up against Fury, who is 6ft 9in and weighed in at 17st 8lbs when he fought Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, it seems like a physical mismatch.

But Bellew’s promoter Eddie Hearn, who will have a huge part to play if the fight ever does get booked, firmly believes the 35-year-old would prevail if he fought Fury today.

“He is very good, but if Bellew boxed Fury now, he’d beat him,” Hearn said. 

Fury's message to Bellew

Hearn may be quite so confident when he hears what Fury has said about the possible fight.

Speaking to FightHype.com, the Gypsy King delivered a scathing message to the 30-2-1 fighter.

“I don’t want to fight Tony Bellew,” Fury said. “Reason being, he’s a family man and he’s got a wife and kids. I want him to stay healthy and stay boxing and earn a few quid and go home easy to his family.

“But if he steps in the ring with the Gypsy King and I unleash hellfire on him, he’s only a small man and I could damage and hurt him properly.

“You ain’t messing with a David Haye who’s 20 years out of date. You’re messing with someone 6ft 9in, 19st, in the prime of me life who can knock a wall down - one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight boxing, but they don’t know it.

“If I go in there and hurt him, what good is that? How does that make me feel, knowing he shouldn’t even be in the ring anyway?

“Listen, we all need money but he doesn’t need money that badly to go and lose his senses and get smashed to pieces.

“And all this ‘he could knock me out’, please. I could let Tony Bellew hit me right here (points to chin) and he wouldn’t hurt me.

“Poor old Tony, it’d be like a feather duster, dusting me up and down.

“He doesn’t want no part of this, trust me on that.”

Fury then suggested Hearn wouldn’t be there for Bellew after the fight.

“Tony, when you’re hurt severely, Eddie Hearn won’t even put a phone call into you. You’re a piece of meat to him, forget about it,” the 29-year-old added.

We await Bellew’s response.