Iranian Hulk - whose real name is Sajjad Gharibi - has apologised after attempting a takedown on Martyn Ford during their face-off.
The rivals came face to face in Dubai last weekend to promote their upcoming boxing match on April 2 at The O2 arena.
Ford, who stands at 6'8", towered over his rival Gharibi as they squared up to each other with several fans watching on.
Gharibi bizarrely lunged at his rival and attempted to take him down the floor only for Ford, who is also known as the World's Scariest Man, to embarrassingly shrug off the Iranian.
The heavyweights stared off for a second time after Gharibi got back to his feet, with Ford retaliating to his rival's actions by pushing him across the ring.
Gharibi has now apologised for the face-off in a video posted to his Instagram page in Persian and translated for Mirror Fighting .
He said: "I came here with my own money and capital without any financial support and without a coach. As you can see in the video, he publicly shocked me and I lost my balance.
"I apologise to all the people of Iran for this, but know that this is not the end of the story, and I will say the main thing in the competition, I promise.
"The Iranian team was told before the conference that they only face each other, and that you have no right to hit your opponent."
Gharibi's actions at the face-off have led to criticism from some fans, but Ford surprisingly came to the defence of his rival after reflecting on their meeting.
"I will say one thing, after meeting the Hulk, and seeing some of his videos in the last 48 hours, YES we are due to have a boxing match, BUT I do not want to see any hate towards him," he said.
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"We have both stepped into a pressure cooker. It's not an environment either of us are used to ... BUT please show some compassion for his feelings, no matter what you feel ... WE ARE ALL HUMAN, WE ARE BETTER than this."
Ford has been taking his preparations for the fight very seriously, even travelling to the Netherlands to train with world champion kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.
Gharibi's training methods have been questioned by Ford and boxing fans alike, with the Iranian posting bizarre videos of himself bending a metal bar and taking punches to the stomach.
The undercard for Ford vs Gharibi is set to feature stars from sport and reality TV, such as former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra and Love Island celebrity Theo Campbell.
