Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew - 10 November 2018

[Ruthless-RKO]

Tony has got just as much right to fight Usyk as he’s the Emiratus champion. But that’s WBC.

[lillywhite14]

Tony has got just as much right to fight Usyk as he’s the Emiratus champion. But that’s WBC.

To be fair Lebedev won a genuine world title and was actually a unified champ too.
He has achieved way more than Bellew has, at cruiserweight and in general.

Lebedev has backers with money too so it’s very easy to put forward his case.

[Stuarty]

I personally couldn't care less if the WBA make Usyk fight Lebedev. Just one less PPV that Sky and Hearn can attempt to flog!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Tony has got just as much right to fight Usyk as he’s the Emiratus champion. But that’s WBC.

To be fair Lebedev won a genuine world title and was actually a unified champ too.
He has achieved way more than Bellew has, at cruiserweight and in general.

Lebedev has backers with money too so it’s very easy to put forward his case.

I do agree. He beat the titleholders.

Bellew didn’t!

I personally couldn't care less if the WBA make Usyk fight Lebedev. Just one less PPV that Sky and Hearn can attempt to flog!

Sooooo TRUE!!

[jamamb]

really? no bellew fight now just cuz of this? do they really need the wba belt on the line? and couldnt a deal be arranged with den to allow this to happen first?

[Stuarty]

really? no bellew fight now just cuz of this? do they really need the wba belt on the line? and couldnt a deal be arranged with den to allow this to happen first?

Can't see Usyk hanging around Cruiser anyway. He'll probably cash in fighting Bellew then move to heavy so Ed will get his PPV after all.

[Ruthless-RKO]

really? no bellew fight now just cuz of this? do they really need the wba belt on the line? and couldnt a deal be arranged with den to allow this to happen first?

Bellew has said he is not fighting Usyk unless ALL the belts are at stake. This is his ‘legacy’ fight as he could be the Undisputed champion in the record books.

If the WBA belt is not on the line, the fight doesn’t go in the record books as for the Undisputed championship. Hearn did say the fight could get pushed back to 2019. Even though Bellew was adamant the fight happens this year.

Am gonna be a prïck and say Hearn/Bellew pushed WBA to do this. Even though WBA are prícks too. Why would they order the fight when Lebedev is due to fight in a few days.
Ignore all that ha.

According to the WBA, Usyk and Leb have until the end of October is it? I’m sure they can negotiate 2 fights.

[jamamb]

well i mean hed still be the lineal and universally recognized top cruiser

and it would be the best win of his career

[Ruthless-RKO]

well i mean hed still be the lineal and universally recognized top cruiser

and it would be the best win of his career

I agree with that. But he won’t be holding all four Org’s belts.

It’s what the sports about. In 10 years time when someone looks at his record. They will see that he missed a title and was actually not the Undisputed champion.

The same logic is applied to Mayweather. Not many respect his resume. But in 10/20 years time, a kid will roll through BoxRec and see that Mayweather fought the best of the best regardless of prime and he’ll be down as an ATG.

I bloody hate the orgs man. I wish it was just 1 belt.

[big lennox]

Basically, Bellew doesn't fancy it. He doesn't fancy taking on Joshua, White or Wilder in the heavyweight division or the Undisputed Cruiserweight champion who has cleared out the division. He wants people like Haye, who was profoundly injured and past his best going into both fights and Tyson Fury before he has got his timing and confidence back. Says a lot about him.

The only time in his career that he stepped up to fight the best in his division was against Stephenson, and he panicked and then got taken out. He has not gone near anyone close to the best in his division since then. That's why it is so galling to listen to him bang on about how brave he is and too good for everyone. I knew when Usyk called him out that despite tweeting ' I was born ready', he would find away of not taking this fight. And so it came to pass, it would seem.

[samwbr]

Is it definitely off?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Is it definitely off?

No. Gotta wait and see what happens.

[lillywhite14]

Basically, Bellew doesn't fancy it. He doesn't fancy taking on Joshua, White or Wilder in the heavyweight division or the Undisputed Cruiserweight champion who has cleared out the division. He wants people like Haye, who was profoundly injured and past his best going into both fights and Tyson Fury before he has got his timing and confidence back. Says a lot about him.

The only time in his career that he stepped up to fight the best in his division was against Stephenson, and he panicked and then got taken out. He has not gone near anyone close to the best in his division since then. That's why it is so galling to listen to him bang on about how brave he is and too good for everyone. I knew when Usyk called him out that despite tweeting ' I was born ready', he would find away of not taking this fight. And so it came to pass, it would seem.

Thing is, and as bad as this sounds, can you blame him?

He isn’t truly elite and he he knows this, yet you have casuals believing he’s a proper world champion and a truly world class boxer. He earned great money for beating the shell of the shell of a world class boxer, he knows the craic.
The man lost to Nathan Cleverly. Perspective.

Fury, at 27 stone, would beat him silly.

[CaptainSpacerod]

Basically, Bellew doesn't fancy it. He doesn't fancy taking on Joshua, White or Wilder in the heavyweight division or the Undisputed Cruiserweight champion who has cleared out the division. He wants people like Haye, who was profoundly injured and past his best going into both fights and Tyson Fury before he has got his timing and confidence back. Says a lot about him.

The only time in his career that he stepped up to fight the best in his division was against Stephenson, and he panicked and then got taken out. He has not gone near anyone close to the best in his division since then. That's why it is so galling to listen to him bang on about how brave he is and too good for everyone. I knew when Usyk called him out that despite tweeting ' I was born ready', he would find away of not taking this fight. And so it came to pass, it would seem.

Agree entirely with this

[gilgamesh]

I've said all along that the smart move for Bellew business wise would be to take on Tyson Fury. Even though that's probably not a winnable fight for him either, it'd be a bigger money maker than Usyk I'd think, and I actually believe he'd have a better chance at beating Fury than he would Usyk. Usyk will school his ass.

[Stuarty]

Apparently Shawn Porter beat Usyk in the ams in 2006 I keep forgetting Porter fought at middle in the ams....

[Ruthless-RKO]

Apparently Shawn Porter beat Usyk in the ams in 2006 I keep forgetting Porter fought at middle in the ams....

You got that off BN? Lol

Porter started his career fighting at MW too.. won a regional belt at LMW too..

[Stuarty]

Apparently Shawn Porter beat Usyk in the ams in 2006 I keep forgetting Porter fought at middle in the ams....

You got that off BN? Lol

Porter started his career fighting at MW too.. won a regional belt at LMW too..

I heard it on some show that I'd recorded earlier mate. I stuck it on when I was eating my dinner.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[jamamb]

im not saying hes bitching out, but it does seem strange to value 1 bauble so much when so many serious accolades would still be up for grabs. hed be the lineal universal recognized #1 , unified 3 belt holder, and hes never beaten anyone at lhw, cw, or hw whose nearly as high ranked as usyk is at cw

just a bit wierd for such a fighting man to care so much about 1 trinket

[jamamb]

btw, tbh, even though i prefer bellew-usyk to leb-usyk, leb really isnt a sham opponent imo. he was a unified champ with a deeper cw career then bellew and he fought very competitively with the gassiev who knocked out wlod and dort

ya he already hes not been so active etc, but there have been A LOT of worse title mandatories

[Andrew]

Who gives a f*ck about the WBA belt.

All four of them can strip Usyk and would still be The Cruiserweight Champion of the world. Everyone else would be paper champions.

If after all the talk Bellew decides against this because of one belt then he is an embarrassment.

[jamamb]

dont really understand guy such as tom gray. on one hand hes gong on about how the wba blows but on other hand hes going on about how wba not being up for grabs would crush the sgnfcance of the fght

so wba blows but really we need them? doesnt that type of mindset just serve to boost the abcs?

ffs loads of sgnfcance to the fght w/o wba. bellew would be lneal universally recognized #1. a W over a p4p fghter. plus ring mag belt. plus 3 belt unified champ. has he ever done anythng close to that significant?

[Andrew]

dont really understand guy such as tom gray. on one hand hes gong on about how the wba blows but on other hand hes going on about how wba not being up for grabs would crush the sgnfcance of the fght

so wba blows but really we need them?

ffs loads of sgnfcance to the fght w/o wba. bellew would be lneal universally recognized #1. a W over a p4p fghter. plus ring mag belt. plus 3 belt unified champ. has he ever done anythng close to that significant?

If so what a muppet.

Also this is the WBA. They bend over backwards for Hearn anyway. If Hearns wants all four belts for the fight he will get it.

[Deadendgeneration]

What does Usyk signing with Hearn mean for this fight?