TONY BELLEW ended up confronting David Haye after he had defended his WBC cruiserweight world title from BJ Flores on Saturday, drumming up interest in a showdown. For that fight Bellew would have to move up to heavyweight, says promoter Eddie Hearn.
โHeโs not going to want to come down to cruiserweight so Tonyโs got to go to heavyweight. If thereโs a max weight, rather than a catchweight, I think that might be likely. But the bottom line is if he hits Haye, he knocks him out and if Haye hits him, he knocks him out. But thatโs the excitement of the fight. I think a lot depends on what opens up for Haye,โ Hearn said. โHe [Haye] might also want to be picking up a belt. But the belts donโt matter as much for him because if he beats him, he can fight AJ next summer anyway. So maybe this is a final eliminator for Anthony Joshua.โ
Bellew isnโt planning on moving up to a third weight class and becoming a heavyweight fixture. He would only go to heavyweightย to fight Haye. โHeโs just looking at Haye rather than saying Iโm going to move up and become a two weight world champion,โ Hearn said. โHeโs probably 15st plus now. What did Haye weight in his last fight? 16st? Heโd probably be giving away a stone. But itโs heavyweight so so what?
โI would say Flores was probably 15st 8, 15st 9 tonight. But he [Bellew] is probably 15st 2. Heโs never been the most aesthetic boxer of all time but he can put some muscle on. He doesnโt need to, heโs fast. The one thing heโs got is, people will laugh when I say, heโs probably got similar hand speed to Haye. But donโt forget Hayeโs up at heavyweight so he looks a lot faster. But they have got similar hand speed. But he fancies the fight, itโs a great fight, the build up will be phenomenal. So weโll try and make it.โ