Man who battered Biebs claims he could have killed him if he hadn't held back

LAMONT Richmond made headlines yesterday after Snapchat footage emerged of him punching Justin Bieber and throwing him to the ground.

By Jack Pusey

The clip horrified Beliebers the world over and offered no context to the brawl, which took place outside Biebs' hotel in Cleveland after the NBAs final.

But now Lamont has stepped forward to offer his side of the story and it might not be what you expect.

The 6ft 5 chap claimed that the Sorry crooner instigated the fight by calling him a "motherf*****" as he approached him for an autograph.

He said he had just left the hotel bar with two female friends and spotted the singer, so asked if they could get a picture.

SPEAKING OUT: Lamont didn't want to look like the bad guy

Biebs allegedly snapped back: "No autographs tonight, motherf*****" before puffing up his chest and taking the first swing.

It's safe to say he probably regrets it…

In a now deleted Facebook video, Lamont explained: “Yo check. The fool ran up on me. I was with the girls.

"We just asked the n**** for an autograph. I don’t know about all this other stuff y’all talking about. I’ve got nothing else to say.”

'NOT A SCRATCH': Biebs must have fared better than the clip suggested

QUITE THE HANDFUL: Biebs really does love himself

In an accompanying caption, he added: "For all you people talking crap he started with me, I was just walking with my girlfriends.

"They asked the little guy can they take a picture with him, he said hell no get out his face, so I said what the hell wrong with you? Then he threw a punch and you see from the video what I had to do."

He also told TMZ that had he gone for for the 5ft 7 blonde at full force, he would have killed him.

BEFORE THE BRAWL: Justin had attended the NBAs final

According to reports, he has already met with a lawyer, despite coming away from the scrap unscathed.

Biebs tried to laugh off the incident with a pouty selfie captioned, "Not a scratch on this pretty boy."

That'll teach him.