TONY BELLEW flexes his fingers. A lump of tissue moves up and down beneath the skin along the back of his hand. The 35-year-old has had his share of wars and wounds. It takes a toll, a life fighting. But those hands have a few more battles left in them.
โThereโs the bone that moves there. You can see it,โ he says.
Something changes in him when that hand closes into fist. He is a father, a husband and, as we all saw at the weigh in today, an ordinary man. He is not a thick-muscled โpower athleteโ. Now however his children are away, from home and a screen showing Sky Sports Box Office. He wonโt speak to his wife until the fight with David Haye is done, win or lose at the O2. When his hands make a fist, heโs something else too.
Thoughts of his family remain with him. โThis,โ the interminable press conferences, the weigh in, the television cameras, the crowds, โis just a circus,โ he says.
โMy greatest achievement,โ Tony Bellew continued, โis a home. I come from a single home. At 10 years old my dad was gone. At 12 years old my dadโs in jail. So Iโm a success, no matter what happens in my life, Iโm a success. David could flatten me in 20 seconds. I donโt give a s***.โ
But he warned darkly, โHeโs not going to. Like I said before, when the gloves go on, I want to cause havoc. I want to cause mayhem. And when I say mayhem I mean the worst mayhem you can see. Something happens to me and I flick a switch and I just want to do damage. I swear when I get him on Saturday heโs going to pay for every word. Iโll smash him. Iโm not going to stop. Heโs just finished. He has no idea whatโs coming Saturday. The frightening part about it, I know what Iโm capable of.โ
Heโs proven it to himself in this training camp. โIโve been brilliant in sparring,โ Bellew said. โWithout sounding big headed I could have rendered every single sparring partner unconscious if I chose to. Iโve been that sharp and that vicious.โ
There is an edge of fear, or at least an awareness of the danger, when he thinks of the Haye fight. โThe first thing that goes as you get slightly older is your speed and your timing and your awareness. Theyโre the first things that leave. The last thing to leave is your power,โ Bellew said. โThatโs why he will always remain an elite level fighter. He is the singular biggest punching heavyweight in the world. [Deontay] Wilder just swings. The reason he does damage is just you donโt see them coming.โ
Haye seems imposing. At todayโs weigh in the 37-year-old unveiled a body that appeared in magnificent condition. But Bellew is looking beyond that. โThereโs a difference between an athlete and a fighter, in my opinion,โ the Liverpudlian said. โIโm really a student when it comes to boxing and I understand how the body works. He will always be a great athlete [but] you canโt defy age. Time waits for no man. Iโm sure youโre very much cleverer now than when you were 30 but physically you canโt do what you could. Itโs no different for him.โ
Haye might have the greater power, the better track record. But Bellew does not care. โI will not give this fella an opportunity. I will take him out and itโs going to be horrible. Thatโs the switch thatโs going to get flipped and thatโs not nice. I just wish this f****** anger and rage would go,โ he says.
โBut it wonโt.โ