Julius Francis reveals he was suspended and arrested after punter knockout punch outside BOXPARK and former heavyweight says he’s open to Mike Tyson rematch

Julius Francis may have been suspended from his job as a security guard, but the Londonder are eyeing a rematch against Mike Tyson.

Earlier this month, footage emerged of 57-year-old former British and Commonwealth champion Francis knocking out a punter while working as a bouncer at BOXPARK Wembley.

The video went viral and current WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury even reacted saying, “I saw the knockout, great right hand by the way.”

One man, however, who we haven’t heard from since the incident is Francis himself, but he has now spoken to TMZ Sports.

“I have the right to defend myself and that’s what I did,” he said. “In case he came towards me and raised his hands, like he was really going to hit me, then I defended myself.”

Francis also revealed that he was briefly arrested following the incident, but police decided to do nothing further.

It was also revealed in the interview that Francis is currently suspended from work safety and is trying to resolve the issue.

“What actually happened, the SIA (Security Industry Authority) – they actually suspended my work permit, so I can’t work at the moment anyway.

“So I just try to sort this out, then I hope [I’ll be] back to the gates as soon as possible, you know, get back to work.

Discussions then quickly moved from Francis’ recent incident to a potential return to the ring and the possibility of maybe even facing Mike Tyson.

The pair first met in 2000 at the MEN Arena in Manchester and it was Tyson’s first time fighting in the UK.

He was no longer at his peak at the time, having suffered two defeats at the hands of Evander Holyfield a few years earlier, but he was still a formidable opponent.

Francis was a decent British level fighter with a 21-7 record, but he had already foul in a bid to win the European title and the only time he faced world class talent in Vitali Klitschko it was also ended in defeat.

Overnight, despite Francis believing he could cause an upset, he sold a sponsorship on the bottom of his shoes to The Mirror, and the newspaper got its money’s worth, as Tyson knocked down the Briton five times in two rounds to win by stoppage.

“I’ll put it out there,” Francis said of battling Tyson for the second time. “I will say yes. Yes, we can have a rematch. I don’t know if anyone will watch it, but I’ll say yes.

“I have a girl who says to me, ‘You’re not going to fight anymore,’ and I’m like, ‘Who would I fight?’

“Obviously people are called Jake Paul or the other Paul or whatever and it’s a mega fight blah blah blah.

“But these guys, they’re not in my category.”