Trainer Coldwell Excited by Tony Bellew’s World Title Progress

Liverpool’s Tony Bellew returned from a nine month absence last weekend to halt experienced Croatian, Ivica Bacurin, in the last session of a scheduled ten rounder. The Liverpool man dominated proceedings from the get go and, after dropping his resilient opponent multiple times, he finally got the job done seconds before the final bell.

Hopes within Camp Bellew are firmly attached to a third world title shot and trainer, Dave Coldwell, is insistent that the time is right for his hungry charge.

“We’re not far from where we want to be and I see things falling into place for Tony now,” buzzed Coldwell. “Last Friday was our fourth fight together and the things we’ve been working on for the last eighteen months are beginning to look the part.

“We’re closing in on something really special after only spending such little time together but the pair of us are so desperate for it to work that we are willing to put in everything to make sure we have the best chance of succeeding at the very top level.”

Bellew’s preparations provided several nervous moments for Coldwell as the daily grind of the Sheffield trainer’s demanding workouts were accompanied by illness in the final three weeks of camp which meant Bellew was not at full potential by the time he reached the ring.

This information was touched on in the immediate aftermath of the fight and Coldwell reveals that it wasn’t ideal with such big fights looming.

“We had to be patient on fight night and make sure there was enough in the tank to go the distance just in case Bacurin was a tough nut to crack. He paced himself well and controlled the fight and a lot of the things he did made me very happy.

“There’s still more for him to show of course but, because of the build up, he wasn’t able to go out there and give the fans what they wanted. That will come in time and if it arrives on the big stage then it’ll be well worth waiting for.”