Tony Bellew has outlined the distinction between “world-class” and “elite-level”, believing just two British legends fall into the latter category.
While winning a major title should, in theory, mean guaranteed world-class status, it often depends on whether that particular fighter has crafted a world-class resume.
Likewise, an elite-level fighter must consistently prove themselves against top-class opposition in order to be immortalised as one of the all-time greats.
With that in mind, Bellew has named Terence Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk and Canelo Alvarez as three of boxing’s elite-level operators in recent years, providing an idea of what it takes to reach such a lofty standard.
In terms of British fighters, meanwhile, the former world cruiserweight champion believes that only Lennox Lewis and Joe Calzaghe qualify for this exclusive club.
By dethroning Evander Holyfield in 1999, Lewis became the undisputed heavyweight champion and ultimately defeated every man he fought.
Similarly, Calzaghe ended his career as an unbeaten former world champion, having made a super-middleweight record of 21 consecutive title defences.
Bellew has therefore told Fight Your Corner that these two Hall of Famers deserve to be regarded as elite-level icons.
“There’s world-class fighters and then there’s elite-level fighters. There’s very few elite-level fighters. I think this country’s produced two in Calzaghe and Lennox Lewis.
“Naseem Hamed is possibly [elite-level], but his resume doesn’t really stack up. I’m talking elite-level fighters – fighters who’ve got the chin, who can adapt in fights.”
While not quite joining Bellew’s group of elite-level fighters, Hamed nonetheless made 15 consecutive featherweight title defences before losing to fellow Hall of Famer Marco Antonio Barrera.
