Tony Bellew

Anthony "Tony" Bellew is a British professional boxer.^[1] He has held the WBC cruiserweight title since May 2016, having previously held the Commonwealth light-heavyweight title from 2010 to 2011; the British light-heavyweight title from 2011 to 2014; and the European cruiserweight title from 2015 to 2016. As an amateur he is a three-time former ABA heavyweight champion.^[2] Bellew made his acting debut with a supporting role in the 2015 sports drama Creed.

Amateur career

Fighting out of Liverpool's Rotunda ABC, Bellew claimed both the 2002 and 2003 novice ABA title's by knocking out every man he faced with the exception of Rob Hough who went the whole 3 rounds from Paramount ABC (Stockport) in the under 10 bouts championships. Then, when he was eligible for the Senior championships, he stepped up to the 91 kg heavyweight class and added even more titles to his collection. In 2006 he lost to Danny Price.

Amateur Record : 40–7.

Professional career

Early career

Bellew made his professional boxing debut on 6 October 2007 against journeyman Jamie Ambler and made a winning start with a second round win. He followed up the victory with further wins in 2007 over Adam Wilcox, fighting at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Wayne Brooks at the Bolton Arena.^[1]

In 2008 Bellew defeated Paul Bonson, Ayitey Powers, Hastings Rasani, Jevgenijs Andrejevs and Phil Goodwin to take his record up to 8–0. During 2009 he advanced to an unbeaten 12–0 with further wins against the likes of Matthew Ellis, Nick Okoth, Jindrich Velecky and Martial Bella Oleme.^[1]

Commonwealth Champion

On 12 March 2010 Bellew challenged for the vacant Commonwealth title at light heavyweight beating Atoli Moore at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.^[3] He made his first defence of the title on 24 September 2010 winning a hard fought victory against Bob Ajisafe at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London's Mayfair with Bellew having to recover from a flash knockdown during the fight.^[2] He made his second defence of the title on 9 December 2010, returning to the Echo Arena to stop former Commonwealth champion Ovill McKenzie in the 8th round despite suffering two knockdowns himself in the fight in both the 1st and 2nd rounds.^[4] On 18 May 2011 it was announced that Bellew would challenge Nathan Cleverly for the WBO light heavyweight title following a pullout from Cleverly's scheduled opponent Jürgen Brähmer with the fight due to be held only three days later on 21 May 2011. Bellew however, failed to make the weight and was replaced with Polish boxer Aleksy Kuziemski.^[5] On 16 July 2011 Bellew made the third defence of his Commonwealth title and also won the vacant British belt with a repeat victory over Ovill McKenzie, with the bout this time lasting the full 12 rounds.^[1]

World Title Challenge

Bellew vs. Cleverly

It was announced that Bellew would fight Nathan Cleverly in Liverpool, on 15 October 2011, for the WBO light heavyweight title. For the first two rounds, the fight started at a ferocious pace, with Bellew rocking Cleverly in the second round. As the fight carried on, Cleverly's boxing skills came through to wear down the resistance of Tony Bellew. Cleverly won the fight via majority decision. One judge scored the bout at 114–114 whereas the other two judges scored the bout at 117–112 and 116–113.

Road Back to World Title Contention

After losing to Nathan Cleverly, Bellew took on Danny McIntosh for the vacant British Light Heavyweight Title, knocking McIntosh out in the 5th Round. Next he took on former World title challenger Edison Miranda for the WBC International belt, and stopped Miranda in the 9th Round.

On 17 November 2012 he beat Argentine Roberto Bolonti for the WBC silver title. Bellew was cut badly but went the full 12 rounds to a win unanimous decision, taking him one step further to a second world title fight. On 30 March 2013, he fought Malawian boxer Isaac Chilemba in a title eliminator. Bellew started very well, but Chilemba raised his game in the later rounds. Although many felt Bellew had done enough to secure a points decision, the judges scored it a controversial draw. Chilemba granted a rematch which Bellew won on points.

Bellew vs. Stevenson

Bellew was made Mandatory Challenger for the WBC Light Heavyweight Title following the win against Chilemba. However, a fight between Adonis Stevenson and Tavoris Cloud occurred on 28 September 2013 with the winner being made to defend his title against Bellew before the end of the year. Stevenson won the fight after Cloud retired after 7 rounds. Bellew subsequently lost to Stevenson via 6th round TKO on 30 November 2013 at the Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City. After this, he announced his intention to fight at cruiserweight.^[6]

Move to Cruiserweight

Bellew celebrated his first fight as a Cruiserweight with a 12th round knockout of Valery Brudov on 15 March 2014 at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. This was for the vacant WBO International Cruiserweight title.^[7] Bellew successfully defended the title on 12 July 2014 against Julio Cesar Dos Santos via a 5th round TKO. Dos Santos went down following a left to the jaw.^[8]

Bellew vs. Cleverly II

On 22 November 2014 Bellew got his rematch against Nathan Cleverly, this time they were both fighting as cruiserweights. The fight took place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. This was also a WBO Cruiserweight Title Eliminator. The bout went 12 rounds as Bellew won via split decision (115-113, 116-112 & 114-115).^[9]

Bellew vs. Bacurin, Kulikauskis

In 2015, Bellew fought two lower ranked European boxers. He defeated Ivica Bacurin via 10th round TKO, Arturs Kulikauskis via 5th round TKO

European cruiserweight champion

Bellew vs. Masternak

In December, Bellew faced highly ranked Polish contender and former world title challenger Mateusz Masternak (36-3, 26 KOs) for the vacant European Cruiserweight title.^[10] Bellew produced a solid performance as the fight with Masternak was back and forth throughout. Going into the 12th round, Bellew was winning by one round. Bellew rocked Masternak late in the round badly but was unable to finish him. However, he won the fight via unanimous decision (115-112, 115-112, 115-113) to capture the European championship.^[11]

WBC cruiserweight champion

Bellew vs. Makabu

On 29 May 2016, Bellew challenged for the WBC cruiserweight title, vacated by Grigory Drozd, who had been injured and not fought since his knockout win in May 2015. Bellew faced Ilunga Makabu (19-1, 18 KOs), who had not lost since his debut back in 2008, at Goodison Park in Liverpool. Makabu was scheduled to fight Drozd, only for the Russian to pull out with an injury, prompting the WBC to strip him.^[12] Bellew weighed in at 14st 3lbs 1oz while Makabu took to the scales at just over 14st.^[13] Bellew overcame a first-round knock-down to deliver a thunderous knockout of Makabu and become WBC cruiserweight champion, winning his first world title.^[14] During the post-fight interview, Bellew called out Denis Lebedev, but will not fight in Russia and David Haye at cruiserweight.^[15]

Bellew vs. Flores

Bellew announced he would be making his first voluntary defence of his world title at the Echo Arena on October 15, against 37 year old American boxer BJ Flores (32-2-1, 20 KOs) live on Sky Sports. This was the first time Flores challenged for a world title, having previously fought for an interim title and the IBO title.^[16] The WBC stated the winner must fight Mairis Briedis next, the mandatory challenger, following his win over Olanrewaju Durodola.^[17] Briedis also fought on the undercard stopping unbeaten British prospect Simon Vallily.^[18][19]

After an even first round, the second round proved to be brutal as Bellew hit Flores on the belt. The referee did not see this as below the belt however Flores stopped for a few seconds to motion the referee that he had been hit with a low blow. Whilst doing so, Bellew piled on more pressure eventually knocking Flores down. Bellew knocked Flores down a further two times in round 2 securing it a 10-6 round in his favour. After a fourth knockdown in round three, Flores failed to beat the referee's count declaring Bellew the winner via knockout and making a first successful defence of the WBC world title. Following the win, Bellew immediately hit out a verbal assault on rival David Haye, who was ringside, repeating he's next. Referring Haye to 'Spongebob', Bellew carried on the verbal assault in the post fight interview using profanity and taunting Haye stating he has been 'conning the British public' since he announced his comeback. Eddie Hearn claimed the fight could take place at heavyweight or at cruiserweight for Bellew's WBC title.^[20][21][22]

Bellew vs. Haye

On 25 November 2016, Eddie Hearn announced via Twitter that Bellew's next fight would be against fellow Brit and former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. The fight date was set for 4 March 2017 at The 02 arena, London and will be shown on Sky Box Office and will be Bellew's first heavyweight fight. Due to the fight being at heavyweight, Bellew's WBC cruiserweight title will not be on the line.^[23][24]

At the first press conference on 30 November, a fight broke out as Bellew and Haye went face to face and it appeared on the replay, Haye had managed to land a left hook on Bellew, leaving a mark. Both fighters were then separated before going their own ways.^[25]

Personal life

Bellew is mixed-race,^[26][27] he is an avid supporter of Everton Football Club, and has been paraded on the Goodison Park pitch at half-time during a game. He enters the ring to the theme from Z-Cars, the same song that the players enter the pitch to during matches at Everton's home ground (Goodison Park).

He is the father to 3 sons and lives with partner Rachael in Aughton, Lancashire.

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
32	N/A	N/A	David Haye	N/A	– (12)	4 Mar 2017	The O2 Arena, London, England
31	Win	28–2–1	BJ Flores	KO	3 (12), 2:11	15 Oct 2016	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Retained WBC cruiserweight title
30	Win	27–2–1	Ilunga Makabu	KO	3 (12), 1:20	29 May 2016	Goodison Park, Liverpool, England	Won vacant WBC cruiserweight title
29	Win	26–2–1	Mateusz Masternak	UD	12	12 Dec 2015	The O2 Arena, London, England	Won vacant European cruiserweight title
28	Win	25–2–1	Arturs Kulikauskis	TKO	5 (8), 2:07	5 Sep 2015	First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
27	Win	24–2–1	Ivica Bacurin	TKO	10 (10), 1:12	26 Jun 2015	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
26	Win	23–2–1	Nathan Cleverly	SD	12	22 Nov 2014	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
25	Win	22–2–1	Julio Cesar Dos Santos	TKO	5 (12), 1:17	12 Jul 2014	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Retained WBO International cruiserweight title
24	Win	21–2–1	Valery Brudov	KO	12 (12), 2:24	15 Mar 2014	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Won vacant WBO International cruiserweight title
23	Loss	20–2–1	Adonis Stevenson	TKO	6 (12), 1:50	30 Nov 2013	Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada	For WBC, The Ring, and lineal light-heavyweight titles
22	Win	20–1–1	Isaac Chilemba	UD	12	25 May 2013	The O2 Arena, London, England	Retained WBC Silver light-heavyweight title
21	Draw	19–1–1	Isaac Chilemba	SD	12	30 Mar 2013	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Retained WBC Silver light-heavyweight title
20	Win	19–1	Roberto Bolonti	UD	12	17 Nov 2012	Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, England	Won vacant WBC Silver light-heavyweight title
19	Win	18–1	Edison Miranda	TKO	9 (12), 1:54	8 Sep 2012	Alexandra Palace, London, England	Won vacant WBC Silver International light-heavyweight title
18	Win	17–1	Danny McIntosh	KO	5 (12), 0:38	27 Apr 2012	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Retained British light-heavyweight title
17	Loss	16–1	Nathan Cleverly	MD	12	15 Oct 2011	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	For WBO light-heavyweight title
16	Win	16–0	Ovill McKenzie	UD	12	16 Jul 2011	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Retained Commonwealth light-heavyweight title; Won vacant British light-heavyweight title
15	Win	15–0	Ovill McKenzie	TKO	8 (12), 2:46	11 Dec 2010	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Retained Commonwealth light-heavyweight title
14	Win	14–0	Bob Ajisafe	UD	12	24 Sep 2010	Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England
13	Win	13–0	Atoli Moore	TKO	1 (12), 2:27	12 Mar 2010	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Won vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title
12	Win	12–0	Martial Bella Oleme	PTS	6	5 Dec 2009	Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England
11	Win	11–0	Jindrich Velecky	TKO	1 (8), 1:28	30 Oct 2009	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
10	Win	10–0	Nick Okoth	TKO	3 (8)	18 Sep 2009	Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, London, England
9	Win	9–0	Mathew Ellis	TKO	4 (6), 0:37	15 May 2009	Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
8	Win	8–0	Phil Goodwin	KO	2 (4), 1:49	12 Dec 2008	Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, England
7	Win	7–0	Jevgenijs Andrejevs	PTS	4	10 Oct 2008	Everton Park Sports Centre, Liverpool, England
6	Win	6–0	Hastings Rasani	TKO	1 (4), 1:52	6 Sep 2008	Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
5	Win	5–0	Ayitey Powers	PTS	4	10 Jul 2008	Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
4	Win	4–0	Paul Bonson	PTS	4	5 Apr 2008	Bolton Arena, Bolton, England
3	Win	3–0	Wayne Brooks	KO	3 (4), 3:00	8 Dec 2007	Bolton Arena, Bolton, England
2	Win	2–0	Adam Wilcox	TKO	3 (4), 1:56	3 Nov 2007	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
1	Win	1–0	Jamie Ambler	TKO	2 (4), 1:00	6 Oct 2007	Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England	Professional debut

Titles in boxing

Filmography

• Creed (2015) as 'Pretty' Ricky Conlan

References

External links

• Official website