Bellew and Cleverly come close to blows at press conference

"Come on then, let's do it now, you f**king rat!"

With this splendid turn of phrase at this afternoon's press conference for his fight with WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly, Liverpool's Commonwealth champion Tony Bellew wrote himself into the hearts of a legion of British boxing fans...and probably paid for his own purse to boot.

Bellew has been talking of his desire to fight Cleverly for a while whilst Cleverly dismissed him as beneath his level, thereby ensuring immediate tension between the boxers.

BoxRec poster Bomber Bellew could not have dreamed of such an opportunity falling into his lap and he seems determined to make the most of it.

Cleverly, irritated by Bellew, dismissed him as a "bum" and it wasn't long before the pair were squaring up after the Scouser's hilarious invitation.

Both men were genuinely intense and there's one thing you can guarantee - their antics have put another five figures on the PPV gate.