ONE HEEL OF AN UPSET
Bellew (who broke his right hand) refused to let up on Haye (who fought on for five rounds on just one leg) and has earned his chance for heavyweight superfights
THERE was a touch of Edmund Hillary and Christopher Columbus about Tony Bellew, as he held court in the early hours of yesterday.
He had climbed higher than he ever imagined, and sailed further than he thought possible, to conquer his Everest and discover a new world. But while Bellew felt he had achieved all his goals and more, he knew the man sitting to his right was already planning a new adventure. How the fight may have developed had David Haye not been hampered by an ankle injury (right) halfway through the contest that effectively left him fighting on one leg, we will never know. But even though Bellew’s 11-round win was thanks largely to his opponent’s right ankle, Eddie Hearn feels it shows he can win a world heavyweight title. He wants to pair Bellew with the winner of WBO champ Joseph Parker’s defence against Hughie Fury on May 6 or WBC king Deontay Wilder. “I believe Tony can win the world heavyweight title,” said the Matchroom MD. “I believe he can beat Joseph Parker. I also believe he can beat Deontay Wilder. “Where David Haye is in the world heavyweight rankings, this could have easily been a world title eliminator, so he’s earned a shot at the world heavyweight title.” Bellew, 34, claims he could retire, which is what his trainer Dave Coldwell wants, and bank his career-best purse of around £3million. But he joked his fiancee Rachael Roberts will tell him to fight again when she sees how big his next offer will be. “I’ve achieved what I got into boxing to do,” he said. “I could walk away tomorrow happily, but I know he’s going to make me some amazing offer I can’t walk away from. It’ll make my missus say, ‘You’re going back in!’ And if you know my missus, you don’t cross her.” Bellew could look no further than seeing his kids yesterday, after sending them and Rachael to Dubai for the week, to keep them away from “the circus” as he calls boxing. Welling up, Bellew said: “I spoke to my 11-yearold on Facetime before leaving the hotel and he said, ‘Just win and come home safe, Dad’. An 11-yearold kid shouldn’t be thinking like that, but this is the business I’m in.” The Scouser made a mockery of the bookies and pundits, who wrote him off, as he humbled the former WBA heavyweight king at The O2 in what was a strange, but compelling contest because of Haye’s injury. Bellew claims he broke his right hand early on and the fight was finely balanced before it was decided in the sixth when Haye badly damaged his Achilles. The crippled Haye was an easy target for Bellew and he narrowly beat the count when he was floored towards the end of the round. To Haye’s credit he refused to blame the injury for his loss and said: “The ankle was just one of those things. The better man won on the night.” Bellew battered Haye in the seventh, but, hobbling round the ring on one leg, he bravely refused to go down. Bellew ended it in the 11th. Haye, 36, was so exhausted he could barely stand and his opponent landed a right and a left hook to send him through the ropes. Haye just about beat the count, but referee Phil Edwards waved if off when trainer Shane Mcguigan threw in the towel. The pair embraced in the ring, a sporting end after the disgraceful trash talk in the build-up. “There’s a new sheriff in town,” grinned the Scouser.