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Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 10:57
by Jimmy2020
His campaign at light heavyweight, where he was drained and underwhelming, has tarnished a career that could have been so much more had he focused on cruiserweight where he was quality.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:00
by Coco
Jimmy2020 wrote: ↑26 Dec 2020, 10:57
His campaign at light heavyweight, where he was drained and underwhelming, has tarnished a career that could have been so much more had he focused on cruiserweight where he was quality.
Bellew, like Paul Smith doesn't get the credit he deserves because he over rates himself.
Taking emotion out of it between amateur and pro achievements they have done big things.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:06
by Fray Bentos
Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:07
by Fray Bentos
He was a hell of an amateur - I remember him KO'ing Jon Lewis Dickinson in two round! He was a puncher and a half at heavyweight and he would have probably done himself a big favour if he had turned pro at cruiser.
I think he would have done allright at heavy, personally speaking!
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:20
by DrDuke
Nothing to rate there really. He's overachiever.
It's still tough to believe, that he iced Makabu.
Yet he should be given credit for picking the Haye bout right on time. We could have heard much less from Tony the Bellend right now, if he would have never made that show and stolen it.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:24
by Jimmy2020
Yeah, he was a banger in the ams. Not sure who advised him to do LHW as a pro? He was as weak as piss because of how much weight he cut.
He made a fortune which is good but we, and his legacy, missed fights with Gassiev, Briedis, Dorticos, Cunningham (maybe), Huck and others.
So he's underrated but in no small part due to the way he went about his career.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:33
by DrDuke
Jimmy2020 wrote: ↑26 Dec 2020, 11:24
He made a fortune which is good but we, and his legacy, missed fights with Gassiev, Briedis, Dorticos, Cunningham (maybe), Huck and others.
I wouldn't pick him against anybody of them.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:34
by Coco
He started at super middle I think
NB I just checked, I made it up! But I'm sure I read somewhere that he would do 12st if needed
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:52
by Fray Bentos
Jimmy2020 wrote: ↑26 Dec 2020, 11:24
Yeah, he was a banger in the ams. Not sure who advised him to do LHW as a pro? He was as weak as piss because of how much weight he cut.
He made a fortune which is good but we, and his legacy, missed fights with Gassiev, Briedis, Dorticos, Cunningham (maybe), Huck and others.
So he's underrated but in no small part due to the way he went about his career.
I remember at the time he would justify his light heavyweight choice to his many critics by saying he was carrying fat as a amateur heavyweight and light heavy was right for him but if I remember right, he boxed at super heavy as an amateur - even at light heavy - he was never 'Baywatch' material - he was always going to look... I am thinking of a word to describe him but 'fleshy' even though that might be a bit unfair on him, he was never going to look ripped.
I remember at the time being surprised at his choice to become a light heavy - I was looking forward to him sparking people out like he did in the ams - loads of people questioned it at the time.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:53
by Fray Bentos
Tony Oakey did the same thing when he turned pro but he was 5ft 8ins!
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 11:57
by Jimmy2020
I genuinely believe Bellew was clean I.e. no peds.
If he'd got to the sort of body fat levels to be defined as 'ripped' he'd have been even weaker than he was. That was actually part of his problem at light heavyweight. He was working so hard to get lean his hormones would have been whacked out of sync big style.
Anybody who is ripped and strong you should be suspicious of.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 12:09
by Steveh583
winning 3 ABA titles, english/british/commonwealth/european/wbc silver and WBC full title is an unbelievably successful career, I actually think if he'd have stuck to the double jab he'd have beaten clev in their first fight too. When you add to that the big money "event" fights at the end, he can be very very proud of himself. Always liked the guy and never understood the hate he gets.
As a fighter hes in that froch/joe joyce mould who look basic from outside the ring but are obv a nightmare when they are in front of you.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 12:38
by Coco
And he was in a Rocky film, if Carlsberg made boxing careers............
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 12:41
by tonyevs
The Makabu was a pretty good result; although Makabu is a champion 4 yrs later, he still hasn't proved he was/is that good.
Haye was worse than washed up - he was practically a corpse in those fights.
Clev beat him fair and square .. he got totally rinsed by Stevenson and Usyk .. the top guys he faced didn't seem to find him too much problem to be fair.
As others have wrote; he wouldn't have been favoured to have lasted the distance against Gassiev or Briedis; in fact Gassiev would have likely scored a more devastating KO of him than Usyk did.
Bellew was an overachiever for sure.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 12:50
by Coco
While I believe Bellew overachieved and I was underwhelmed by him also, one thing which stood out for me was when he was fighting for the Euro title against the Pole Masternek, it was damn close, a hard fight and the fight was in the melting pot going into the championship rounds. In the end it was Bellew who deservedly prevailed showing the steel champions are made of during those rounds.
Now one of the reason that he gets hate is because he seems to overrate himself, or perhaps we can blame Johnny Nelson for that.
Nevertheless while short of elite standard and maybe short of true world championship level, he damn deserves his achievements,
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 12:51
by Bard of Boxrec
Lol. He’s the classic overrated fighter .
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 12:54
by mickey1975
Fray Bentos wrote: ↑26 Dec 2020, 11:52
Jimmy2020 wrote: ↑26 Dec 2020, 11:24
Yeah, he was a banger in the ams. Not sure who advised him to do LHW as a pro? He was as weak as piss because of how much weight he cut.
He made a fortune which is good but we, and his legacy, missed fights with Gassiev, Briedis, Dorticos, Cunningham (maybe), Huck and others.
So he's underrated but in no small part due to the way he went about his career.
I remember at the time he would justify his light heavyweight choice to his many critics by saying he was carrying fat as a amateur heavyweight and light heavy was right for him but if I remember right, he boxed at super heavy as an amateur - even at light heavy - he was never 'Baywatch' material - he was always going to look... I am thinking of a word to describe him but 'fleshy' even though that might be a bit unfair on him, he was never going to look ripped.
I remember at the time being surprised at his choice to become a light heavy - I was looking forward to him sparking people out like he did in the ams - loads of people questioned it at the time.
He justified Fwank every day on here for years, he really did. But, believe you me, he had a very good career. His punditry is appalling, though. He probably think Callum Smith was robbed, he really will.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 13:23
by dookus
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 13:27
by tonyevs
Now one of the reason that he gets hate is because he seems to overrate himself, or perhaps we can blame Johnny Nelson for that.
Sorry - but there is no off putting the blame onto Johnny Nelson. Bellend was being a bell-end fairly early into his pro career. He really seems to have that deluded over inflated self appreciation of himself from early on ... Maybe that was what enabled him to achieve the very impressive things he actually did out of boxing; and love or hate him .. he has achieved lots and earned even more which none of us can begrudge him.
But ultimately he is a bell-end of a fella without doubt.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 14:14
by dookus
I don't think he is. Very good fringe world-class fighter who was good enough to win a vacant title and beat a long past-it Haye, and not good enough to beat true world class. I don't see many rating him better or worse than that.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 14:28
by Ruthless-RKO
More people will say Bellew overachieved..
He did what he had to do, towards the end of his career.. got the big money Haye fights.
There was literally no one else he could have faced for the big money.
He’s extremely lucky that Haye did a comeback when he did.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 14:34
by Terminator666
Wouldn’t say underrated- made the most of his attributes picking the right fights at the right time with David Haye
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 14:39
by Jimmy2020
For a while I, like many, thought he may have overachieved. Now I don't. Instead I think that all of those who suggest he overachieved are wrong and are simply underrating him. I think he had the ability to do more than he did but took the wrong path in selecting to campaign at LHW.
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 14:54
by Coco
Shhhh wrote: ↑26 Dec 2020, 14:37
Bellew is a bellend.
End of.
But the question is, was he an underrated bellend!
Re: Bellew is underrated
Posted: 26 Dec 2020, 17:15
by emallini
Most fighters are underrated on the keyboard warrior space where warriors get called bums and cowards
