Tony Bellew

[TheGman]

All the threads on here about haye being crap,haye being shot etc etc,what about bellew and his performances over the 2 fights plus going through a camp when his family was torn down the middle,I gotta say well done Tony and you have made me eat humble pie for about the 5th or 6th time in your career. Not a great fan of him but boy this guy can fight and I can only take my hat off to him,respect were its due and Bomber has gained my respect

[craigjenkins05]

All the threads on here about haye being crap,haye being shot etc etc,what about bellew and his performances over the 2 fights plus going through a camp when his family was torn down the middle,I gotta say well done Tony and you have made me eat humble pie for about the 5th or 6th time in your career. Not a great fan of him but boy this guy can fight and I can only take my hat off to him,respect were its due and Bomber has gained my respect

I think most people think belles did well and you can’t blame him for Hayes body breaking down but you won’t find a much better run of streak a vacant title vin against makabu who apparently was very dangerous but never fought outside Africa and a Haye who’s body’s breaking down I have to him credit as I didn’t think he would win either fights but that was a shadow of Haye we’ve seen in both fights

[tigermoth87]

Bellew gets underrated. He's a solid, world level fighter with a decent chin and good power. Some decent scalps on his resume too- Makubu, Clev, Ovill, Chilemba etc.

He's not elite. But a good top 5 guy.

[jamamb]

bellew is a good fighter no doubt, and underestimated by many. he hasnt beaten a world class fighter (at the time) imo but he does have a number of solid wins. he looked pretty vulnerable at lower levels early on (down vs ajisafe, ovil, and a random latvian), so he really achieved far better then it looked like he might at one time



my disappointment is that he got out of the cruiser division just as it got super hot and they were setting up the best fights. i understand from his perspective though, with big money for haye, but i felt the most interesting fights for him were to be held at cruiser, and that thats where he could achieve the most

id still be very interested in seeing him in with top end , prime cruisers like usyk, gassiev, briedis, dorticos, etc. the wbss wouldve been much more interesting to me for him then the haye fights and id still like to see him fight the winner or one of the top guys from that tournament. maybe they could have a big fight with the winner for all the belts, including his old one, no doubt a guy like usyk would come to the uk

[leejonesjnr]

He's not elite. But a good top 5 guy.

You don’t class the top 5 as the elite? Who is elite, the top 2, top 1?

[gilgamesh]

He's not elite. But a good top 5 guy.

You don’t class the top 5 as the elite? Who is elite, the top 2, top 1?

Also. I'd be curious to know what he means by Top 5. Top 5 what? Surely not a Top 5 Heavyweight?

[dirk2686]

He's not elite. But a good top 5 guy.

You don’t class the top 5 as the elite? Who is elite, the top 2, top 1?

Guess it depends on the drop off in quality. I mean, who's top five at heavyweight? Joshua and Wilder obviously. Then maybe Povetkin and Ortiz? Parker? Miller?

I mean, the final two are highly ranked but clearly miles behind Joshua.

[Yes We Can]

I have a lot of respect for Tony even if I don't like him. He's had a very good career and even a shot Haye is a better win than 90% of people thought he would get. I don't believe he has many top level fights left himself, and don't begrudge him carrying on a cash out run. I know he dismissed it but Dillian Whyte is a logical step next.

[leejonesjnr]

He's not elite. But a good top 5 guy.

You don’t class the top 5 as the elite? Who is elite, the top 2, top 1?

Guess it depends on the drop off in quality. I mean, who's top five at heavyweight? Joshua and Wilder obviously. Then maybe Povetkin and Ortiz? Parker? Miller?

I mean, the final two are highly ranked but clearly miles behind Joshua.

Fair point.
I suppose at this moment there are only 2 heavies in the elite.
I don’t think Bellew is elite or top 5 myself, it just struck me at first glance that one without the other is odd.

[lillywhite14]

Overachieved. Good, fringe world class operator who’s only faced one world class fighter in his career.

Hats off for maximizing his career, and earning big dough, it’s good seeing fighters earn big money.

He’s had so much go his way in the last few years but he’s made the most of it.

Absolutely full of shite though. Such a whingebag.

Whyte isn’t anything special but he’d have far too much for Bellew.

[gilgamesh]

You don’t class the top 5 as the elite? Who is elite, the top 2, top 1?

Guess it depends on the drop off in quality. I mean, who's top five at heavyweight? Joshua and Wilder obviously. Then maybe Povetkin and Ortiz? Parker? Miller?

I mean, the final two are highly ranked but clearly miles behind Joshua.

Fair point.
I suppose at this moment there are only 2 heavies in the elite.
I don’t think Bellew is elite or top 5 myself, it just struck me at first glance that one without the other is odd.

Do you guys think Bellew cracked the Heavyweight Top 10 today?

I honestly hadn't given it much thought, but looking at my rankings just now I'd definitely say he comes in at 9 or 10 or so because nobody that I had in those positions honestly has a more impressive win than his wins over Haye...even a faded version of Haye.

[coneye]

Bellow is a good boxer , a very good boxer , but is he elite world level or been lucky , I think its a mixture of luck and good management , jumped up and down divisions and got himself the better fights titles, and money , and up till now is unscsathed so good on him ,

Congrats on his win , he was confident and proved correct , he knows his boxing and done his homework , BUT letrs not get to carried away here , I watched the fight and Haye was all over the place , , I could'nt help but think if i was training a raw novice , and he had footwork like Haye , I would'nt let him fight until he improved .

Bellow beat a name not a good or great fighter

[gilgamesh]

Bellow is a good boxer , a very good boxer , but is he elite world level or been lucky , I think its a mixture of luck and good management , jumped up and down divisions and got himself the better fights titles, and money , and up till now is unscsathed so good on him ,

Congrats on his win , he was confident and proved correct , he knows his boxing and done his homework , BUT letrs not get to carried away here , I watched the fight and Haye was all over the place , , I could'nt help but think if i was training a raw novice , and he had footwork like Haye , I would'nt let him fight until he improved .

Bellow beat a name not a good or great fighter

I don't dispute this, but nobody at Heavyweight has a particularly deep resume when you go past the guys at the top so even a win over a name, and nothing more is more than most of the Heavyweights can claim at the moment.

[lillywhite14]

I’d back Joyce to batter Bellew

[samwbr]

I’d back Joyce to batter Bellew

Agree.
Tony calling out Andre Ward tho

[lillywhite14]

I’d back Joyce to batter Bellew

Agree.
Tony calling out Andre Ward tho

He’s retired and two weight divisions lower...

No brainer!

Ward would stop him.

[samwbr]

I’d back Joyce to batter Bellew

Agree.
Tony calling out Andre Ward tho

He’s retired and two weight divisions lower...

No brainer!

Ward would stop him.

Yep

[BitPlayer]

He's not elite but he's very good, and with the heart and will he's made the best use of his abilities too. Good on him. I was so happy to see him win again

[bigjack]

I’d back Joyce to batter Bellew

Agree.
Tony calling out Andre Ward tho

He’s retired and two weight divisions lower...

No brainer!

Ward would stop him.

I'm not so sure about that,i think Bellew would have a reasonable chance.

[willardx]

Respect to bellew. He did what he said. Always the best post fight interview. Hopefully he will get a shot at gassiev /usyk

[Gnome]

All the threads on here about haye being crap,haye being shot etc etc,what about bellew and his performances over the 2 fights plus going through a camp when his family was torn down the middle,I gotta say well done Tony and you have made me eat humble pie for about the 5th or 6th time in your career. Not a great fan of him but boy this guy can fight and I can only take my hat off to him,respect were its due and Bomber has gained my respect

I think most people think belles did well and you can’t blame him for Hayes body breaking down but you won’t find a much better run of streak a vacant title vin against makabu who apparently was very dangerous but never fought outside Africa and a Haye who’s body’s breaking down I have to him credit as I didn’t think he would win either fights but that was a shadow of Haye we’ve seen in both fights

Not to mention Adonis Creed.

[samwbr]

Respect to bellew. He did what he said. Always the best post fight interview. Hopefully he will get a shot at gassiev /usyk

He won't want it. Usyk particularly would box his head off.
His calling Ward out makes him look like he's up for it but without a belt why would Ward bother?

[Avitar]

i think its the opposite sky/talksport etc.. were acting like he beat prime mike tyson after the last fight..

if he wants credit he needs to fight a credible opponent not a semi retired shot fighter we all have eyes we could see how haye was lastnight..

[tigermoth87]

He's not elite. But a good top 5 guy.

You don’t class the top 5 as the elite? Who is elite, the top 2, top 1?

For me elite is the guy you can legitimately say is the best in his division,. In fact maybe guys p4p or pushing the p4p list. Because McDonnell is arguably the #1 guy in his division but I wouldn't call him elite. World class fighter yes, but him vs anyone in the top 10 would pretty much be a 50-50 fight.

Elite for me is the guys hanging around the PDP rankings.

Loma, Usyk, Joshua, Inoue, Garcia etc.

[tigermoth87]

He's not elite. But a good top 5 guy.

You don’t class the top 5 as the elite? Who is elite, the top 2, top 1?

Also. I'd be curious to know what he means by Top 5. Top 5 what? Surely not a Top 5 Heavyweight?

Cruiser

Even though fight was at heavy, he was basically fighting another blown up cruiserweight.

He'd get smushed against the bigger heavies.