Looks like this is happening, both fighters want it so just sorting out if it's at Cruiser or Heavyweight.
http://www.skysports.com/boxing/news...syks-challenge
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Looks like this is happening, both fighters want it so just sorting out if it's at Cruiser or Heavyweight.
http://www.skysports.com/boxing/news...syks-challenge
Thought Bellew would hold out for the Fury fight purely from a financial angle.
If it is at cruiserweight, and it should be, then Usyk will box circles around Bellew. I would love to see Bellew outclassed. David has an overinflated opinion of himself.
I think Eddie and Bellew will try and make it a heavyweight just to even the odds but even then I think he loses.
I think it will be at heavyweight. Bellew would struggle to get down to Cruiser now, and Usyk wants to move to heavyweight.
Its a good matchup for Usyk. His titles won't be at stake, he gets his first heavyweight fight against a small guy with a big marquee name from Creed, and I think he handily beats Bellew.
I hope you are right the only concern would be how well Usyk handles the extra weight. It will be an interesting matchup.Quote:
Originally Posted by X
This probably won’t happen. When the harsh reality of how little Bellew will earn for a hiding dawns on him, there’ll be a few bullshit excuses and that’ll be that.
I hope the fucking idiot retires.
Sky/Eddie will make it ppv and Usyk will not be getting that big a purse fighting anyone else. It certainly a better matchup than Bellew v Haye.Quote:
Originally Posted by Primo Carnera
What's the point of having it at heavyweight, bellew isn't a serious heavyweight and usyk has the belts at cruiserweight... Seems very odd to have it at heavyweight, there loads of British guys at heavyweight they could sell better in blighty than usyk at heavyweight... I doubt bellew will face him at cruiserweight though... Can usyk still make 200 lbs easy?
Hopefully Usyk is getting a lot of money for this because Bellew is nowhere near his league. I feel like there are for sure better fights to be made.
Winner fights Ward...
I actually thought about Usyk vs Ward. Would love to see it.Quote:
Originally Posted by imp
Ward could win x4 belts at cruiserweight in less than 36 minutes and retire again as a x3 weight division undefeated champion.Quote:
Originally Posted by powerpuncherI actually thought about Usyk vs Ward. Would love to see it.Quote:
Originally Posted by imp
Case closed.
Doubt it whether Bellew will accept the fight with Usyk but if he does..and he wins..then Ward would definitely come out of retirement for that fight.
Usyk wants to move up
This will be another clinic. Throw in a knock down or 2 for Usyk as well.
I think Usyk stops Bellew at either weight. Too much skill and output for a guy like Bellew who is in love with his own supposed 'Bomber' power. Usyk is not some over the hill crocked fighter, he is coming off a dominant performance and is just so much faster than Tony it could be embarrassing. Can't wait ;D
In saying this, Bellew will get huge credit from me if he takes a challenging fight like this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha
That is true, as much as a cunt Bellew is, who loves the sound of his own voice, he does talk a lot of sense. This is a proper hard test against a top level fighter.Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaIn saying this, Bellew will get huge credit from me if he takes a challenging fight like this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha
In saying that Bellew has few options at heavyweight as he has no right being there.
He can get a nice cash out fight at heavyweight tho.Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterThat is true, as much as a cunt Bellew is, who loves the sound of his own voice, he does talk a lot of sense. This is a proper hard test against a top level fighter.Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaIn saying this, Bellew will get huge credit from me if he takes a challenging fight like this.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha
In saying that Bellew has few options at heavyweight as he has no right being there.
Bellew is already delusional that he'd "chin" Usyk, who has demonstrated a granite jaw thus far.
Hearn initially didn't want this because it generates shit PVP figures as Usyk is completely unknown to your average man in the street.
He's now all for it because Bellew says it's the one he wants.
I'm surprised that Bellew said this morning that he wants to get all 4 belts then retire which means he wants it at Cruiserweight.
I wouldn't write Bellew off either as he definitely has a Punchers chance here but can he keep that power he bulldozed Haye with back down at Cruiser after nearly 3 years out of the division?
Not so sure but with Bellew anything's possible
No chance Bellew fights Usyk at cruiserweight as he would get annihilated which would be great to see.Quote:
Originally Posted by smashup
Fighting Usyk at heavyweight defeats the whole purpose of trying to win the belts but I am sure Sky/Eddie can spin this into a PPV event. They have done worse including Bellew v Cleverly 2.
If this guy is the next coming, how come didn't he wax Gassiev? :confused::confused:
Who else has knocked out Gassiev? I'll wait.Quote:
Originally Posted by holmcall
Knockouts don't = greatness.
Are you smashup in disguise?Quote:
Originally Posted by holmcall
Yea I don't get smashup, puts shade on Usyk, but talks up Fury.Quote:
Originally Posted by MasterAre you smashup in disguise?Quote:
Originally Posted by holmcall
Usyk all the way weeks now of bellend gobing off.
Usyk via Route
Looks like this fight might be off the table, after the WBA ordered Usyk to fight Lebedev.
Can't Lebedev fight one of their other champions in the interim?
At least Usyk can continue to clean out the division I guess.
Good news! 2 serious boxers fighting each other. Hopefully Bellew will retire now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha
I like the Lebedev fight more anyways. Bellew is extremely overhyped.
I agree, although Bellew is the bigger name right now, which would enhance Usyk's popularity. I think that was the initial agreement when Lebedev gave his blessings and belt up so all titles could be on the line for the first tournament. Lebedev has been pretty inactive, but his fight with Gassiev was razor thin.Quote:
Originally Posted by powerpuncher
Bellew has always been underrated by British boxing fans not overrated. I get why boxing fans hate him, as nobody overrates Bellew more than himself, but the casual fans/media in the UK love him.
I said Makabu and Haye (first time) would slaughter him, this time Uysk really will slaughter him, but it's a sexy matchup for the UK.
You could have fooled me. Bellew is talked about a lot by UK fans. If he were from the states, I can’t imagine he would be known really at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenster
He is talked a lot by UK fans but the most pertinent part of Fenners post was when he said "the casual fans/media in the UK love him"Quote:
Originally Posted by powerpuncherYou could have fooled me. Bellew is talked about a lot by UK fans. If he were from the states, I can’t imagine he would be known really at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenster
The more hard-core boxing fan in England sees him as an average fighter who has been blessed with some good wins and the privilege of being Eddie's BFF
Caught a replay of Bellew vs Adonis this last weekend. Old fight but a good one in which Bellew was boxing pretty well until he got hurt. I’ve come to like Bellew as he’s a gutsy bastard who keeps it real. He was one of the first to scoff at mayweather vs McGregor immediately after the fight n saw right through any “success” McGregor had in that fight. He saw right through Haye’s bullshit as well. I’ll be rooting for Bellew in this one.
To be fair, Bellew is a knowledgeable and decent pundit, but as a Boxer , if you go through his record carefully, he has been matched well and blessed with some especially good fortune. He is overrated based on his opinion of himself. But most regular Boxing fans know exactly what he is .Quote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
If he manages to beat Usyk AT CRUISERWEIGHT, I will definitely eat my words , but until then , he is an overrated, hypocritical prick.
Usyk has just signed with Sky/Hearn which means a Bellew fight is nailed on 😎
Looking back on that fight I think Bellew should've given up on light heavyweight sooner and moved up. He didn't seem to have any strength or power in that fight, he just kept on the move which allowed Stevenson to walk him down.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hulk
he seems a lot sturdier these days but I still have my reservations until he beats a live opponent again. For the past couple years he's fought David Hayes clubbing mate and had those two wins over a washed up injured hayemaker. It may be a shock to his system when finally fights someone fit and capable of punching him back
Usyk is the real thing, a very very good fighter who has everything except one punch KO power.
Bellew is cagey, so I think there is no way he wins this but he survives to lose a wide decision (that the judges make much closer than it was because of hometown advantage)
ony Bellew used to hold the WBC world cruiserweight title before switching up to heavyweight to defeat David Haye. Now, in his second BBC Sport column, he says he is on the brink of sealing a fight back down at cruiserweight where he could achieve something no British fighter has ever done before.
I had one foot out of the door in this game but someone has drawn me in one last time.
Ten weeks from now I will have grown to hate Oleksandr Usyk as when I'm sat alone in my hotel room I'll be blaming him for the loneliness and sacrifice of my training camp.
It looks like I'll be facing a man who I believe is the greatest cruiserweight since Evander Holyfield, a man who, I believe, even after I've beaten him, will move up to heavyweight and win a world title.
He wanted to do this at heavyweight but I was not going to face such a monster for nothing and so with all four of his belts on the line, I'll become the first British man to hold all four world titles in a division.
That, when I was a kid, was nothing but a dream. But this dream involves a test before I even get in the ring as to make the 200lbs cruiserweight limit, I'll need to shed a couple of stone. That brings its own mental challenge as my time at heavyweight allowed me to loosen the diet.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cp...346124_1tb.jpg
Many people outside of boxing may not know what a training camp represents. It will be around 13 weeks for this fight and that will involve four nights a week away in Sheffield to train with Dave Coldwell.
I return home to Liverpool on a Wednesday and work through strength and conditioning with former Everton fitness coach Dave Billows. Of course, I get to see my family then which helps massively.
It may be hard to understand but I want camp to harden me. I could stay in a lavish hotel but don't. I check in, get my microwave for the room and pretty much shut the door for weeks. The isolation helps in many ways.
At Coldwell's gym I love the younger fighters like Anthony Fowler, Jordan Gill and the twins Gavin and Jamie McDonnell, but this is no team sport and in my mind, I'm on my own. They are great to be around but no one can push me in training like me.
For a couple of weeks, the tranquillity of the hotel room is nice as at home there's always mayhem with the kids. But eventually you go crazy and before you know it you're out going for walks on your own, talking to yourself and yes, I go to the cinema on my own like a saddo. I can hear people in there saying, "Is it him? It's him."
Sometimes I window-shop and some of the staff may recognise me so their eyes light up thinking I'm going to buy half the shop but I'm not really a spender.
By about week 10 you are ready to kill the world. I begin to blame the other fighter. People wonder why I dislike my opponents, it's not personal or that I hate them it's just that I know what I've had to sacrifice to face them.
Camp just drills the mind and even though I get that Wednesday at home, in many ways I'm not really there as mentally I'm somewhere else. The focus never goes. I've not switched off in 20 years, so why start now?
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cp...46125_1bel.png
As a heavyweight I've not missed dieting. Those days where you're sore or tired, it makes me feel happy to know I can eat a bar of chocolate. Knowing I can have a treat like a milkshake when I'm alone in the cinema helps me get through some sessions.
I've got Mark Ellison, the nutritionist for Anthony Joshua and Manchester United, on my team for the first time. I'll say this for AJ, he lives the right life so even at this age and with the years I have behind me, I'm open to learning from Mark.
I am not a heavy drinker, I've never taken a drug in my life but I am prone to a pizza. That cannot happen this time but this for me is one last dance, it's four belts, all or nothing.
The other stress people forget about for a camp is managing sparring partners - it is costly to get the right ones. That's feeding them, housing them, keeping them happy - you really have to do that as an unhappy sparring partner is no good to you.
And then there are the days of physical torture. Friday is punch stats day. That's 2kg weights on each arm, 16oz gloves on your hands and you're punching relentlessly trying to break the gym record - which I hold. It's a truly unbelievable session.
It's probably one I dread and we follow it with leg workouts on Friday afternoon. The other one I know will hurt me is treadmill work on a Saturday morning, typically 30 seconds of effort at a flat out pace with a 30-second recovery, repeated up to maybe 36 times over. It's brutal and often I end up spewing.
I've done 23 sessions in around 15 days so far, burning around 20,000 calories. Unlike the young Tony Bellew, I now know that if I'm broken and cannot do the typical 11 sessions a week, so be it. Age teaches you to listen to your body and I'm lucky in that I've got support around me so after finalising this column, I'm heading to Everton for physio and to get my back cracked.
So camp is a lonely, torturous place, physically and mentally. I'm not complaining, I was the guy telling my wife I'd be a world champion when we were younger. She must have thought I was a barmpot but it's all worked out in the end and been worth it.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/45434065
When we get down to it, I'll be in the ring with a phenomenal boxer, a man who has brought the amateur style that won him Olympic gold into the professional arena.
But make no mistake, I will not stand in awe or admire him from afar. I will push him to the absolute limits and let's see what he's got. Let's see what he's like when it's really hard.
I've been down, got off the floor, overcome major cuts in fights, been behind on the cards, I've experienced everything in this game and I don't believe he has.
I've not heard one reporter say they think I can beat him yet but I've been written off forever. A guy stopped me at a petrol station the other day and said "sorry" as he had David Haye down both times to beat me. So did most of the world.
This bout is one I could sign off on. If I lose, which I could, then so be it. But I know I am going to beat him. I don't know how, I just know I'm going to get to him.
Between now and then, when I'm sat in that lonely hotel room, I'll be studying all the time. I don't just watch him but take in fights where I think the clash of styles are similar.
Boxing people will know that Bernard Hopkins v Antonio Tarver has similarities, so I'll watch what each man did in those kind of fights. And, of course, I'll watch Usyk and, let's be honest, he will see far more flaws in me than I do him.
But I have that one-punch power that he doesn't. I can iron this fella out with one punch. It takes one movement, one mistake, sucking him in for one second and I will put him out.
I'll suffer as much as I need to for 13 weeks. No one says I can beat him, but we'll see.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cp...799_colage.jpg