TONY BELLEWโS next move will be an interesting one. After beating David Haye at heavyweight, there are only a few fights he is willing to take in that division. But Tyson Fury is one of them.
His promoter Eddie Hearn sounded a note of caution. โHe met Tyson [after the Haye cancellation] and they shook on a deal to fight and I said to him, he ainโt going to fight you,โ Hearn said. โTyson Fury, when you see what he comes back against and when you see what he fights over the next three or four fights, he wonโt go anywhere near Tony Bellew. But in time that could be a big fight.โ
Bellew himself is not willing to wait. He knows Tyson Fury, a former heavyweight world champion was, at his best, too talented and simply too big for him. But Tony will be watching his return closely. Heโs willing to fight Fury in his second comeback fight.
โNot three or four fights. Itโs just the three or four fights. He gets on that Dusseldorf form [when Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko], I donโt fancy the night that that could incur for me. Iโm not about that life. I donโt need a man whoโs about nine foot trying to punch my face in whoโs back to his best. Listen boxingโs all about timing, Iโm not going to sit here and lie to you and say I would have beaten Tyson Fury that night in Dusseldorf. Chances are I wouldnโt. Heโd dance around the ring and jab my head off,โ Bellew explained. โTiming is everything in boxing and styles do make fights. Tyson Fury isnโt a big puncher like Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua. Or David Haye. But he has a certain set of skills. Heโs big, heโs elusive and heโs fast for a heavyweight. But he isnโt as fast as David Haye. So itโs a fight I like.โ
In other words, just as when he took the David Haye fight, he wants to make a calculated gamble.
Andre Ward, who has bulked up to about 200lbs in retirement, is an interesting fight and he could be tempted into a return. โI really like the Andre Ward fight. Thereโs loads of options, like there was after the last fight. But weโll just have to see,โ Bellew said. โHe wants the fight. Believe you me, he thinks he can beat me easy. He wants the fight.โ
But the Liverpudlian warned, โIโll beat Andre Ward. Youโll all laugh and think I havenโt got a chance but I will knock out Andre Ward. I will beat him down slowly but surely. I can do it two ways. I can outbox Andre Ward is I choose to. I have a different set of skills to what heโs faced before. I can do things differently. I can beat him. I donโt care how good he is, Iโve got all the respect in the world for him. An amazing fighter, pound for pound great, but styles make fights and I will beat him.โ
โI can match him [on the inside]. Heโs never fought a fighter who can match him on the inside. Thatโs his greatest strength. It really, really is,โ Tony explained. โHeโs Bernard Hopkins 20 years younger, thatโs exactly what he is. But thereโs ways to beat him. I know I can beat him. Iโm one hundred per cent convinced I can beat Andre Ward. As great of fighter as he is. Once again Iโll beat him but heโll go down as a far greater fighter than me, because of his achievements. Heโs a brilliant fighter, heโs a legend in the game. But Iโll beat him. That fat Scouser will beat him.โ
Dave Coldwell, his trainer, puts another option on the table. Bellew has won a cruiserweight world title and beat Haye twice. His trainer thinks he could retire now with his head held high. โI would love him to walk away,โ Coldwell said. โIn the gym, heโs getting better and better every time. Heโs got such a great boxing intellect and he thinks about things. With age comes his maturity. Heโs able to then take it into a fight.
โI donโt want him to quit because of that, I want him to quit because – what else is there?โ