The state of the stock market reportedly spurred a shoving match between jailed financier Bernie Madoff and a fellow inmate in Butner, N.C., witnesses said.

Madoff, 71, and an inmate in his 60s started shouting, then shoving, with Madoff being declared the winner by inmates who witnessed last week's prison-yard scuffle, The New York Post reported Tuesday.

"I didn't think Bernie had it in him. He got the best of him; he was really aggressive, and the other guy was in shock that he fought back," another inmate told The Post.

By the next day, Madoff and his sparring partner had made up and were seen spending time together, the inmate said.

The scuffle was not witnessed by prison guards, who punish inmates with time in solitary confinement for such offenses, The Post reported,

Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence for turning his wealth management firm into a Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars.