Where does Tony Bellew go from here?

[taffytoon]

I thought Tony took the heavy punches well to be honest. It does show that the KD by Bob was just a flash one. Adonis had a free couple of shots and one landed flush, Tony still walked away albeit on unsteady feet. Last time Adonis had a free punch like that he knocked the fighter out cold.

[Cyclops]

That leaves Nathan vs Tony to rematch at cruiser weight. Which would be a really interesting fight for British fans , if the promoters can make it happen?

This is exactly what I was thinking. Unfortunately though I think this is a very good undercard fight for a big main event and not really a main event in itself. I've never seen the first one and have never been particularly bothered about either fighter, although I stayed up to watch last nights fight.

I've seen both guys fight in the flesh, but on undercards. I'd never pay just to see them, and now they've both been KO'd and we know they're not that special I don't think Cleverly Bellew 2 is some sort of superfight that will sell out the MEN. I do however think it's the natural next fight for both of them. At cruiser.

[johnswan1]

Not sure Bellew-Clev should happen just yet. It's a real "loser retires" fight, so I would prefer the two of them get to rebuild and target world title shots. If one of them can get a share of the world title then a rematch between them suddenly becomes a big domestic event. Neither of them took any long lasting damage, which is very lucky given they've both been in with the biggest punchers in the sport.

[MR T]

i like Tony and he seems a nice chap but I've never really enjoyed watching his fights, Since the 1st Mckenzie fight hes fought like he doesn't trust his chin and always has to have some sort of gameplan to follow.

[palooka]

i like Tony and he seems a nice chap but I've never really enjoyed watching his fights, Since the 1st Mckenzie fight hes fought like he doesn't trust his chin and always has to have some sort of gameplan to follow.

that's a fair comment

[jimcook]

the tone of this thread is far too negative.....ok he may not have proved too much of a threat to stevenson, and kovalev looks formidable, but who else is gonna make a real fight of it with those two? bellew is a decent fighter and is still learning, he can go on and be in plenty of good fights. he never really took too much punishment last night, and was on his feet at the stoppage, which is something you dont often see in stevensons ko victims. he could fight clev again, or bute , pascal, cloud, hopkins...any of them

[ajwesty13]

I really warmed to tony lately and am sadden for his loss... however he was a little out of his depth... he looks a little thin for this level and like people said a move up and get some weight behind him could benefit him... good luck whatever he does


oh and ps i watched all the fights this morning and enjoyed every single one of em... it was a great undercard after the awful one last week... :)

[SAPFO]

Nothing left at 175 as I think he looks too frail at the weight and needs to fill his frame a little. I would like to see a proper body makeover ala Brook, and a meaty Bellew 25lbs heavier on fight night (he was 190 this morning) where he will bang harder, be stronger, and be more stable taking shots. He matches the taller cruisers for height so that's not a problem.

For a dip into Cruiser I reckon Dickinson who he KO'd in the ams while losing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deEiEeG7XsU It would be a decent domestic SFN scrap.

[bripez]

i like Tony and he seems a nice chap but I've never really enjoyed watching his fights, Since the 1st Mckenzie fight hes fought like he doesn't trust his chin and always has to have some sort of gameplan to follow.

I agree - which is fair enough.

However since the Mckenzie fight he always says that he "was boxing to orders" as if he would (and could) have gone toe to toe and taken his opponent out but wasn't allowed to.

Those actions coupled with his usual words ("I am prepared to go out on my shield / die in the ring") etc. do him no favours with the general public.

He is ok against limited domestic opposition - which is why we will see him against Macerinelli and then call out Cleverly for some spurious vacant "world" title.

[dapug]

it was nothing to do with bellews chin, he's renowned for having a great chin.

No he isn't ! Both Ajisafe and Mckenzie put him on the deck, and they are hardly world beaters.

X2

[hurlock]

He was very successfull at heavyweight & allway's hurt people & can genuinely bang & deffo loses power boiling down.allways had a big heart to match his punch but lacked strength at heavy. I think he's in the same predicament up at cruiser tbh.but then saying that if he can use the same dedication in cutting weight into building the body up he may well
Do somthing

[Bomber 1]

I said I would be back on here the day after the fight and I'm a man of my word, I lost to the better man last night and maybe I'm not as good as I think I am or could be? The plan was to take him into the later rounds and capitalise on his fitness levels but he caught me and fair play to him.. He is a good champion and very hard to hit. I apologise to all my friends and family who came out as I didn't do what I thought I was going to do.. I'm sure the arse holes will have there pops but like I said I hide from no one and gave it everything.. Thank you for the support on here too

[handsofstone]

I feel for Tony Bellew,he was just outgunned and probably should have started to go through the gears round about the time he got tagged if not the round before but it was always gonna be a tall order,i was actually impressed on the few occasions where Bellew did let his hands go and would liked to have seen him do it more often

Credit to Stevenson though,showed that he is more than just a banger,has decent speed and accuracy,id LOVE to see him in with Sergey Kovalev

If Tony does hang around LHW then i think Eduard Gutknecht would be a good test or if he still holds the British,a unification fight with Commonwealth champ Enzo Maccarinelli

If he moves up to CW then Nathan Cleverly would be the obvious fight for sometime next year

Hard to bare though Tony,hope you get right back on the horse

[Spud]

Tony Bellew in my view has done incredibly well - he fought for the WBC World Light Heavyweight Title, a reputable world title.

He should be proud of himself, I was big critic of Tony's sp get himself to world level is a great achievement - well done Tony, take some time out, have a good think about things.

[palooka]

I said I would be back on here the day after the fight and I'm a man of my word, I lost to the better man last night and maybe I'm not as good as I think I am or could be? The plan was to take him into the later rounds and capitalise on his fitness levels but he caught me and fair play to him.. He is a good champion and very hard to hit. I apologise to all my friends and family who came out as I didn't do what I thought I was going to do.. I'm sure the arse holes will have there pops but like I said I hide from no one and gave it everything.. Thank you for the support on here too

You got caught that's all; he didn't muller you and you had a plan in mind. It takes a lot of bottle to go 5,000 miles to the other mans yard and face him. The top level at light heavy is very hard at the min. Have a good Christmas (I thought you'd got him at one point).

[jimb0d]

I said I would be back on here the day after the fight and I'm a man of my word, I lost to the better man last night and maybe I'm not as good as I think I am or could be? The plan was to take him into the later rounds and capitalise on his fitness levels but he caught me and fair play to him.. He is a good champion and very hard to hit. I apologise to all my friends and family who came out as I didn't do what I thought I was going to do.. I'm sure the arse holes will have there pops but like I said I hide from no one and gave it everything.. Thank you for the support on here too

Respect. I backed you for a late KO and we could see the plan. Get up to fight Clev/Afolabi.

[steve689]

He's a European/fringe world level fighter trying to mix with the elite fighters. No WBO belt holders here.

No disrespect, he's boxed at a top, top, top level and achieved as a pro but the Chilemba fights offered everything we need to know about his abilities.

[Syntax Error]

Tony is stuck in a trough right now.

He's a decent operator, but unfortunately for him, some of the world belt holders are killers & he wouldn't stand a chance against them, as Stevenson has proved in his case.

[lefty]

I was cheering Tony on and his plan was the right approach. Unfortunately he got rocked and his legs buckled, an instant stoppage situation unless he took a knee, but he was boxed in and in trouble.

It struck me how thin he was when stood alongside Adonis, and have to concede that he looks like he needs to take a few months out and feed himself up.

A good rest, then see what's at 175lb or regroup at cruiser. He certainly offers the sport something and I like the way he carried himself in this fight. He was focused and fully aware throughout, even the conclusion.

He had a go at 'the man' in his back yard, can't knock that.

People will compare Tony and Clev's last respective performances , and believe he did absolutely miles better.

That will only change perspective if Kovalev destroys Adonis.

I think he will destroy him.

That leaves Nathan vs Tony to rematch at cruiser weight. Which would be a really interesting fight for British fans , if the promoters can make it happen?

But I think Eddie will go for Shumenov. Barker failed at first and now has the belt. I think Eddie will try and get fight to secure Tony's future bank balance. I just hope he can be strong at the weight, if not move up.

Thats because Bellew basically ran around the ring though not engaging for large portions of the fight. I'm sure Cleverly might of lasted longer if he'd adopted that tactic! Saying that though, Kovalev is an aggressive guy whereas Stevenson is a counter puncher and thus is more adept at cutting opponents off round the ring.

[lefty]

the tone of this thread is far too negative.....ok he may not have proved too much of a threat to stevenson, and kovalev looks formidable, but who else is gonna make a real fight of it with those two? bellew is a decent fighter and is still learning, he can go on and be in plenty of good fights. he never really took too much punishment last night, and was on his feet at the stoppage, which is something you dont often see in stevensons ko victims. he could fight clev again, or bute , pascal, cloud, hopkins...any of them

Hopkins would beat himself aswell though I think and Pascal in particular would be no walk in the park.

[lefty]

I said I would be back on here the day after the fight and I'm a man of my word, I lost to the better man last night and maybe I'm not as good as I think I am or could be? The plan was to take him into the later rounds and capitalise on his fitness levels but he caught me and fair play to him.. He is a good champion and very hard to hit. I apologise to all my friends and family who came out as I didn't do what I thought I was going to do.. I'm sure the arse holes will have there pops but like I said I hide from no one and gave it everything.. Thank you for the support on here too

I think more than anything mate, he was better than you thought he was. I'd read your comments in the build up about the Don George fight in particular and ive seen that fight a few times. He basically beat the crap out of him over 12 rounds before stopping him in the 12th. One final thing, another thing id seen you say in the build up was that he was a small man with short arms and that your reach/length you'd be able to dictate him with the jab. Only you can answer this having been in there with him is that he has very long arms even though he's not the tallest? Anyway, finally, I think you had more success with him when you just pretty much went at him like a bull! I know there would of been a great risk of getting sparked but the time you really did bum rush him so to speak he ended up going down!

[lefty]

Stevenson would knock Froch out aswell for what it's worth!

[SexySouthPaw]

I said I would be back on here the day after the fight and I'm a man of my word, I lost to the better man last night and maybe I'm not as good as I think I am or could be? The plan was to take him into the later rounds and capitalise on his fitness levels but he caught me and fair play to him.. He is a good champion and very hard to hit. I apologise to all my friends and family who came out as I didn't do what I thought I was going to do.. I'm sure the arse holes will have there pops but like I said I hide from no one and gave it everything.. Thank you for the support on here too

You boxed to the best of your ability Tony and was beaten at the highest level
,no shame in that.More importantly you took the defeat like a man.
Fighters win and lose it's all part of the game.
90% of posters on this forum will never experience the mental and physical stress
a fighter has to go through to step into a ring to fight.
Maybe something needs to change lifestyle/weight division/trainer/body composition,only you will know,be honest and make the adjustment.You have maybe 3-4 years left in the game make wise choices.

[palooka]

I said I would be back on here the day after the fight and I'm a man of my word, I lost to the better man last night and maybe I'm not as good as I think I am or could be? The plan was to take him into the later rounds and capitalise on his fitness levels but he caught me and fair play to him.. He is a good champion and very hard to hit. I apologise to all my friends and family who came out as I didn't do what I thought I was going to do.. I'm sure the arse holes will have there pops but like I said I hide from no one and gave it everything.. Thank you for the support on here too

You boxed to the best of your ability Tony and was beaten at the highest level
,no shame in that.More importantly you took the defeat like a man.
Fighters win and lose it's all part of the game.
90% of posters on this forum will never experience the mental and physical stress
a fighter has to go through to step into a ring to fight.
Maybe something needs to change lifestyle/weight division/trainer/body composition,only you will know,be honest and make the adjustment.You have maybe 3-4 years left in the game make wise choices.

Good point and well made

[DMA1987]

I said I would be back on here the day after the fight and I'm a man of my word, I lost to the better man last night and maybe I'm not as good as I think I am or could be? The plan was to take him into the later rounds and capitalise on his fitness levels but he caught me and fair play to him.. He is a good champion and very hard to hit. I apologise to all my friends and family who came out as I didn't do what I thought I was going to do.. I'm sure the arse holes will have there pops but like I said I hide from no one and gave it everything.. Thank you for the support on here too

You boxed to the best of your ability Tony and was beaten at the highest level
,no shame in that.More importantly you took the defeat like a man.
Fighters win and lose it's all part of the game.
90% of posters on this forum will never experience the mental and physical stress
a fighter has to go through to step into a ring to fight.
Maybe something needs to change lifestyle/weight division/trainer/body composition,only you will know,be honest and make the adjustment.You have maybe 3-4 years left in the game make wise choices.

Good point and well made

Not to be confused with taking victory like a man Palooka .

Well done Tony, I know you'll be disappointed but you came up against a very good fighter at the top of the division. I am sure we will still see some great nights from you yet pal.