I'm really looking forward to this fight, it looks on paper to be a real 50:50. Tony has changed from a guy that was in love with his power to a much more rounded boxer using a good jab and good skills. From the little bit of footage I've seen of Chilemba he looks like he does everything pretty well. I'm anticipating a 12 round fight that's pretty technical - as long as Tony listens to instructions!
Going purely on national bias and the fact I've only seen a little of Chilemba, I'm going Bomber UD
im looking forward to this bill... should keep me from going out on sat night (cant remember the last time a decent bill stopped me from going out on keg)
There isn't a lot of footage of Chilemba on YT but I watched his fight against Maxim Vlasov just now. He doesn't do anything spectacularly but appears to be pretty solid and has a decent jab. He doesn't have the fastest of hands and tends to keep a low defence and he is open to the counter as he doesn't move his head a lot. Vlasov had him down twice in the 8th round, once heavily. It's hard to judge on watching one fight but based on what I've just seen, I don't see him causing Bellew major problems and if Tony boxes like he can, I'd fancy him to win on points with no controversy attached.
Isaac sounds like he's going to be tough as hell. A close fight going 12 looks on the cards, hopefully Tony knows he's probably going to have to dig deep - the crowd might sway it his way...
If it takes character to walk into an opponent's backyard and endure the jeers of thousands of spectators, then light heavyweight contender Isaac Chilemba has plenty of it to spare.
Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KOs), 25, who travels to Liverpool, England, on Saturday to face homegrown Tony Bellew in a title eliminator, has no problem circling the globe in search of difficult challenges. He's also no stranger to overcoming odds in the face of adversity.
One of 10 siblings born in the poverty-stricken African nation of Malawi, Chilemba was tasked with helping to raise his younger siblings while his single mother travelled for months at a time in search of work to support the family. The death of both his parents -- when Chilemba was 16 years old and living in South Africa at the time -- left him completely in charge, forcing him to turn professional two years later.
To be honest Bellew is going to be the favourite and Chilemba is tough really tough. I think Bellew boxes clever we don't need the stoppage we need the win so his best option is to box his way to the win. There is no point getting into a brawl with Chilemba who will soak up the pressure so he just needs to pick his shots and get that number one contender spot.
Bellew means every word he says,but he gets carried away & seems to get himself going saying what he's going to smash & you half expect him to start smashing a chair whilst talking through the manner he will rip someone limb from limb.
Chilemba is pretty classy & can box coming forward & going back & is a slippery fighter & in order to smash Someone you have to hit them & tony needs to stay cool calm & collective because if he goes in hot headed he will beat himself.
Seems to be an ingredient missing from Bellew somewhere along the line. It's probably punching power. He's just not overly convincing as a world class fighter.
I'm not an expert by any stretch but the clip I saw last night on sky tome I thought bellew looked dry, gaunt and my mate who isn't a boxing fan at all thought he looked ill. I could be wrong but chilemba looked comfortable and strong whereas tony had the look of someone who has struggled to make weight. I hope bellew wins, I'm not convinced after what I saw last night
