Tony Bellew vs. David Haye (1st meeting)

Notes

Haye ahead on points after five rounds, badly ruptured his Achilles tendon after stepping awkwardly. Bellew sprung into action and put serious pressure on Haye who was then forced to go down as his leg couldn’t hold him up. Haye continued to fight on and after surviving a torrid round 6 and 7 began to get back in to the fight even winning round 9. However, with bad balance and an inability to get full leverage into his punches it was an uphill struggle. In round 11 Haye was caught by punches to the top of his head whilst bobbing and weaving. He fell through the ropes as his Achilles again gave way due to his body weight being on the ankle. After climbing back in to the ring before the count of ten his trainer Shane Mcguigan threw in the towel signaling the end and a massive upset win for Tony Bellew.

"In my eyes I've beaten the best cruiserweight this country has ever produced and one of the best heavyweights. I am honoured to fight in the same ring as him. I've looked up to him. He made the same mistake everybody else does. He underestimated me. Watch me on tape and I'm terrible but in the ring I'm harder to hit than you think." - Tony Bellew
"The ankle was just one of those things. The better man won on the night. It wasn't my night. I didn't land the good shots, I was in good shape but his game was better than mine. It felt like a Rocky movie and I was one punch away from knocking him out but I couldn't quite do it." - David Haye