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Former British heavyweight champion Julius Francis says he would be interested in facing Mike Tyson in a rematch, after footage went viral last week of him knocking out a man with one punch while working as a bouncer. Watch the video below:
Francis, who was comfortably beaten by Tyson in their fight back in 2000, went viral on social media after knocking out a reveller who aggressively approached him while he was working as security for BoxPark near Wembley Stadium.
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The 57-year-old, who last fought professionally in 2006, says he would be interested in taking on Tyson for a second time - 22 years after their first fight in Manchester.
Francis told TMZ: "I have a daughter that tells me 'you're not going to fight again', and I think to myself 'who would I fight?'
"Obviously people name Jake Paul or the other (Logan) Paul or whatever and it's a mega fight blah blah blah.
"But them guys, they're not in my category."
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When asked about a potential fight with Tyson, Francis added: "I'm going to put it out there. I've never liked talking about money but they could put up with a decent offer. Then, who knows.
"I'm going to put it out there. I’m going to say, yes. Yes, we can have a rematch. I don’t know if anybody will watch it, but I'm going to say, yes."
Francis fought Tyson at the age of 35 and was knocked down five times during the bout as 'Iron Mike' won inside two rounds.
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The British heavyweight also came up against the likes of Vitali Klitschko, Danny Williams and Audley Harrison during his career before retiring in 2006 with a professional record of 23-24-1.
After hanging up his gloves, he founded a fitness company and began working as a security guard.
He went viral last week for the altercation in Wembley, with BoxPark's founder Roger Wade and heavyweight champion Tyson Fury leaping to his defence after the incident.
Wade wrote on LinkedIn: "Acts of violence or abuse to any staff members should never be tolerated. How would you react if someone approached you violently? What would you do next if you were in my shoes? #istandwithjulius."
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Fury added: "This guy is p****d up of whatever and had a few drinks, getting cheeky. These guys are doing their job and he's attacking them... so he's been chinned.
"And it's a life lesson isn't it. Never go out and be cheeky to big men. Because you're probably going to get chinned sooner or later."
Police have confirmed they have dropped an investigation into the matter and Francis says he now feels "vindicated".
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"This crazy era of social media and popularity of people. I was actually vindicated by the way people on social media got behind me," he added.
"To say that, we appreciate what you did, you were in the right. The guy deserved it and all this kind of stuff. I felt vindicated and it shows that people do still think about me and appreciate what I did during my boxing career."
However, Francis has confirmed he is still off work after having his security licence suspended following the incident.
He added: "The security authority industry called the SIA actually suspended my licence to work.
"I can't work at the moment, so I'm trying to get that sorted so I can get back to work as soon as possible."
Topics: Boxing, Heavyweight Boxing, Mike Tyson
Rory O'Callaghan