Tyson Fury sparked the fire ahead of his much-anticipated heavyweight clash with Anthony Joshua after mocking his rival on Twitter.
Although a date has yet to be set, Joshua and Fury will unite the heavyweight division in 2021 when they face each other later this year.
Both men are working towards a unification fight, and Joshua shared pictures of himself training on Twitter, along with the caption 'A great modern day fighter will be able to compete in any era.'
However, this was picked up on by his fellow Brit, who decided to respond in typically inflammatory fashion, mocking his rival for the post, as well as reminding him of his shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
Joshua lost his undefeated record to the Mexican in June that year, before regaining his titles in a rematch in December.
But commenting on the post, Fury wrote as cited by Sports Central: 'A great? My a***! You got ktfo by a chubby kid who had 3 weeks notice. You are a great at looking good on pics I must say whit whooo.....xxx.'
While the fight is one of the most highly-anticipated in the history of UK boxing, it will not take place in Britain.
There was only ever a slim chance of the clash happening in this country in late May or early June because of the financial necessity of a full crowd, but promoter Eddie Hearn has now confirmed that the increased restrictions have effectively removed the possibility altogether.
The Middle East remains the most likely destination, with approaches received from Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Qatar, and there is further interest in the US and China.
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