BoxRec

It’s never been a secret that Tony Bellew was tight at the light-heavyweight limit back in the day.

The man who fought as a heavyweight during his amateur days decided on a surprise run at 175 for his 2007 pro debut.

Boiling down was a choice for ‘The Bomber’ at the beginning. With the intention of moving up to cruiserweight and above later in his career – which he eventually did.

But only those close to him at that time really knew the horrors Bellew had to go through to make 175 pounds. Early during his progression, and apart from a tester for his first pro outing, Bellew had the ‘luxury’ of fluctuating a little before titles were on the line.

Hitting 177 for his second and third fights, Bellew went to 184 for a 2008 victory over Paul Bonson in Bolton. This must have been a relief for Bellew at that time. It was only a short reprieve though. The devout Evertonian would be back to 178 and below just three months later.

A trend which continued until December that year. At the back end of 2008, the pressure of making weight was already taking its toll and Bellew scaled 184, 189 and 184 for his next three contests.

Late in 2009, the news came the 11-0 prospect was waiting for. That a title was in the offing and on the horizon. Bellew quickly knuckled down to make 177 against Martial Oleme before going under 175 for the first time in his career for Atoli Moore in March 2010.

A Commonwealth clash with Bob Ajisafe lay in wait, but it took six months for the title bout to make it to the ring. Amazingly, Bellew scaled the same 174 (plus change) he did for Oleme when battling to a unanimous verdict in Mayfair. The Liverpool man had his first strap.

Back-to-back defenses took place at the Echo Arena and Bellew remained steadfast in scaling under the limit. It seemed he’d found a fool-proof way to hit his excruciating target weight.

For the next two years, as the calibre of the opponent increased, it was clear Bellew was struggling badly.

A loss to Nathan Cleverly and a draw with Isaac Chilemba were clear warning signs for Bellew.

But once the call came from acting WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman (taking the role due to an illness his father Jose would never recover from), Bellew had to go one more time in search of the ultimate glory.

Working his way to mandatory WBC contender, Bellew was pitched to face Adonis Stevenson. He knew to make that weight one more time was likely a bridge too far.



Looking at the photograph Bellew shared, it’s clear to see why. He was 185 pounds at the time and looked as if he’d been living in a starvation camp. It was not good.

Reliving the pain, Bellew said: “The last time I made 175lbs! I took this photo three weeks before I left for Canada to take on Adonis Stevenson!

“I was living in Jersey City in NY for a month prior to the fight. I had 10 pounds to go on this photo!

“I had woken up and sent this picture to the wife after she asked me how’s the weight going?? My reply was “Great Luv”

”Oh well all is well that ends well I suppose. As I’ve said before Abs are overrated.”

Plowing on with the coveted green and gold belt on his mind, Bellew went into battle and had nothing to give. Stopped in seven rounds in Quebec City, Bellew promised to never put himself through that torture again.

LOL scary? Whoever thinks that must be absolutely terrified of non-HW boxing, that is what fighters look like.

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 09:46 LOL scary? Whoever thinks that must be absolutely terrified of non-HW boxing, that is what fighters look like.

AND he had 10 pounds to go.

I started liking Bellew when he beat David Haye twice...I'm starting to remember why I was initially not a fan

I think he looks good in that picture like. I don’t know where the 10lb would come from though, know what I’m saying.

Looks in great shape to me , little drawn in the face tho .

He looks fine to me. Another nothing Bellew story

rd350lc wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 12:43 Looks in great shape to me , little drawn in the face tho .

fizzjambo wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 12:59 He looks fine to me. Another nothing Bellew story

Fair enough it’s good shape. But he had to lose another 10 pounds to make LHW.

Take what Bellew says with a pinch of salt. I doubt he had to lose another 10lbs from that picture

Scary is McGregor at 145, weighing in.

Bellew is clearly a guy who likes his food and finds it hard to knuckle down to a diet, no shame in that and I feel that pain myself but to portray it as some huge hardship and "scary" thing is nonsense. He looks like a fit fighter and tbh the whole 175lb thing was smacks of a case that he had to live like a professional athlete and hated it.

tobyh5 wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 14:29 Bellew is clearly a guy who likes his food and finds it hard to knuckle down to a diet, no shame in that and I feel that pain myself but to portray it as some huge hardship and "scary" thing is nonsense. He looks like a fit fighter and tbh the whole 175lb thing was smacks of a case that he had to live like a professional athlete and hated it.

Yh, he never stayed fit. A lot of boxers are the same. He probably weighed around 200 and had to get down to 175. Man he looked so bad against Adonis.

He says 10lb to go, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was pretty much there. That said, it does look a bit too much for him, but then he was never close to top shape at 200, so I imagine the old 190 limit would've been his ideal.

I think we all know to take what Bellew says with a grain of salt

The Machinist.

that looks like water retention in first pic after protein shake , dont think he looks that bad in the 2nd , face always looks gaunt when losing weight,conor mcgregor looked bad

Bellew will never do right for doing wrong in the eyes of UK boxing 'fans'. Personally never understood the hate, he was a good, honest overachieving pro who understood the fickle, shady nature of the game and maximised his earnings.

As far as I know Dom has never fought, Bellew would win with his hand behind his back. Dom is over 50 too.
Silly talking really, saying that that they both seemed to back off getting physical, they both know it's nonsense.

Nevertheless Eddie would try and put it in DAZ!

smiling assassin wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 13:46 Take what Bellew says with a pinch of salt. I doubt he had to lose another 10lbs from that picture

tobyh5 wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 14:29 Bellew is clearly a guy who likes his food and finds it hard to knuckle down to a diet, no shame in that and I feel that pain myself but to portray it as some huge hardship and "scary" thing is nonsense. He looks like a fit fighter and tbh the whole 175lb thing was smacks of a case that he had to live like a professional athlete and hated it.

Coco wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 20:26 As far as I know Dom has never fought

He boxed as a kid.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 11:02 I started liking Bellew when he beat David Haye twice...I'm starting to remember why I was initially not a fan

ditto

Stevenson still would have banjoed him. Not sure what point he is trying to make here. Weight is not a prison, make a weight, or move up. Simple

Shhhh wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 21:06

Coco wrote: ↑01 Feb 2020, 20:26 As far as I know Dom has never fought, Bellew would win with his hand behind his back. Dom is over 50 too.
Silly talking really, saying that that they both seemed to back off getting physical, they both know it's nonsense.

Nevertheless Eddie would try and put it in DAZ!

In boxing yes. But I said in the streets. Remember Dom beat up rob mccrackem once

I never heard that? And Mckracken was well used to street stuff from his football days

Bellew looks tight in that photo but it's stretched and angled to make him look a bag of bones. He wasn't cut at all at Cruiser- in fact he looked pretty fleshy- and at heavy he was fat. Not Andy Ruiz fat, but still Dad-bod fat.

LHW is a struggle for most lads that fight there. The modern cruisers are absolute units and cut like old school heavies. They struggle too.

Bellew can dine out for the rest of his life on how he beat the bankrupt ghost of David Haye and how his Makubu and Chilemba fights look good in hindsight. I was there live for Chilemba 2 and it was incredibly dull. When he fought the true elite he wasn't competitive, and his rematch win over Cleverly was one of the worst fights I ever watched. Nathan is classy to have never admitted an injury, but anyone who's ever seen the fight (and I wouldn't bother if you haven't) it's clear to see he could only throw one hand.

Fair play to Bellew for his career and that, but he's just one of those boxers I never really took to and he's full of absolute twaddle. Enjoy your money and your wife and kids and go away.