A British Beef: Assessing a Potential Bout Between Tony Bellew and David Haye
After stopping Ilunga Makabu to become a world champion at the third attempt, Tony Bellew discussed many topics in his post-fight interview on Sunday.
The newly crowned WBC champion talked about fighting at Goodison Park, the home of his beloved Everton, playing the part of Pretty Ricky Conlan in the film Creed and how he should now be judged the best cruiserweight in the world.
Bellew's emotions were understandably raw when he talked in the ring to Sky Sports' Andy Scott (who did a tremendous job):
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However, the biggest talking point to come out of the interview were his comments about a fellow Englishman who used to reign in the cruiserweight division.
In branding David Haye "the bitch from Bermondsey," Bellew no doubt knew his harsh words would elicit a reaction from the two-weight world champion.
Sure enough, Haye replied via a video post on his Instagram account.
Per Richard Damerell of Sky Sports, the footage included the line: "After I've knocked out Shannon Briggs, who has been giving it a lot of that himself, if you want to be on the list too, I'm knocking out all people [who are] talking too much, so get on the list, mate—you're going to get smashed to bits."
Now that is fighting talk.
Bellew responded with a recorded speech of his own, as tweeted out by Sky Sports:
Now, like a stone rolling down a hill, the situation is gathering momentum. The media attention is enough to suggest that this fight could happen before the end of 2016.
Here, Bleacher Report raises questions—and hopefully provides the answers—about what would undoubtedly be an explosive showdown.
What About the Weight Issues?
Bellew weighed in at 199 pounds prior to his sensational stoppage of Makabu.
Haye, meanwhile, hasn't fought at under the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds since 2008, when he defeated Enzo Maccarinelli inside two rounds to add the WBO title to the WBA and WBC versions he already had in his possession.
Since then, the lightest The Hayemaker has ever been before a bout is 210 pounds. He registered that number on the scales before facing Dereck Chisora in July 2012.
However, since his comeback to the ring this year, Haye has been at his heaviest yet.
He was 227 ¼ pounds for his January 16 bout with Mark de Mori, then a slightly lighter 224 against Arnold Gjergjaj on May 21.
Getting back down to cruiserweight would be a big ask for a big man.
Haye turns 36 in October. He also has enough avenues to explore in a suddenly packed heavyweight division—trash-talking American Shannon Briggs is already lined up as his next opponent.
But when asked about his weight on Twitter, Haye did reveal his willingness to shed the pounds, albeit not enough to allow him to fight for Bellew's WBC belt:
For his part, Bellew is happy to step up. He told Sky Sports' Isaac Robinson:
"If he [Haye] wants to get down and train properly he could do cruiserweight but he's happy living the lifestyle he lives and parading around and if that's the way he wants to do it, we can do it at heavyweight. It's not an issue. I'll leave him to weigh whatever he wants.
He's a small heavyweight. We're not talking about Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder or David Price here. We're talking about me going in with a dwarf heavyweight—someone who's a built-up cruiserweight. He's a manufactured heavyweight and not a true heavyweight.
"
It seems two words that irritate many in boxing—"catch" and "weight"—could come into play here.
The two parties can easily set a limit for the maximum weight allowed, making sure Haye doesn't have a huge advantage in terms of size.
Why Does Bellew Want the Fight?
It was always going to be hard for Bellew to top winning a world title at Goodison Park. That was his date with destiny. Had he lost, retirement beckoned.
But having achieved his lifelong goal, Bellew now needs a real challenge to sink his teeth into.
Calling out Haye is a clever move.
While there are other fights out there at cruiserweight, Bellew wants major paydays.
He is 33 and has had 30 bouts in his pro career. The carrot dangled in front of him has to be enticing enough to go through yet another gruelling training camp.
According to FightNews.com, Denis Lebedev holds the WBA and IBF belts. The WBO title, meanwhile, is in the possession of Krzystof Glowaki.
Lebedev and Glowaki may both be excellent fighters, but neither are household names in England.
Sky Sports pundit Johnny Nelson believes Bellew always planned to bring up Haye's name in his interview. The former world champion wrote in his blog for SkySports.com: "That's not him just gassing in there—these are fights he wants. He actually really wants to get Haye back down to cruiserweight and fight him."
Why Would Haye Take the Fight?
Poke the bear, and you should expect an aggressive response.
Haye doesn't take kindly to being called out by rivals. Despite harassing the Klitschko brothers earlier in his career, he's not so enthusiastic about trash talk when the boot is on the other foot.
But don't think this is all a matter of pride. Haye knows the business—any publicity is good publicity.
Haye has agreed to take on Briggs—although no date has officially been announced yet—after realising the interest surrounding a potential bout was enough to make it a profitable occasion.
The same may happen with Bellew, who tested the waters with his post-fight comments in Liverpool, England.
Haye is hoping to eventually land a shot at IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, but that doesn't seem likely to happen in the near future.
Per David Anderson of the Mirror, Eddie Hearn—Joshua's promoter—said of the potential bout: "If you want the truth, Haye is not on our radar."
While he waits (and it could be a long wait), Haye may as well be involved in interesting fights.
His return so far has seen him involved in two complete mismatches. De Mori and Gjergjaj were poor (and that's being kind)—Briggs may not be much better.
Bellew, in contrast, would definitely be a live opponent.
Is There Public Interest?
Few expected Haye's name to crop up in Bellew's interview. It caught the majority of the boxing world by surprise—and that's a good thing.
Journalist Steve Bunce summed up the initial feeling perfectly in his column for the Independent:
"It took Bellew a few minutes after the fight to start issuing challenges, and one in particular was aimed at former cruiserweight and heavyweight world champion David Haye, who was probably just innocently watching the fight on TV at his home in south London and then choked on a protein shake. Bellew called for a fight with Haye, which instantly made no sense and all the sense in the boxing world, which is the way all crazy fights should first be received when they are announced.
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Too many fights these days are common knowledge long before an official announcement is made.
Also, too many are foregone conclusions before the ink has completely dried on the contract.
There's nothing wrong with shaking things up. When Amir Khan announced out of nowhere he would face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the boxing world had to collectively pick their jaws up from the floor.
It turned out that fight went the way most expected. Yet Khan—who started brightly before being on the wrong end of a heavy knockout—deserves praise for taking the gamble.
The same applies to Bellew, albeit there is clear logic behind his bitter words.
Even if you feel Haye may be too big and too strong (more on that to come), you cannot deny Bellew has the punch power to make it interesting.
Such intrigue shifts tickets and, potentially, pay-per-view buys.
Is There Any History Here?
It appears so, yes.
Bellew revealed to Robinson that he once sparred with Haye.
Apparently, it did not go well for the latter:
"I've sparred with David in the past and he knows what happened when we sparred. I was an unknown amateur at the time. What I will say is that I wasn't the guy pulling out of a fight 24 hours after that sparring session. He got his backside kicked and then pulled out of the Mark Hobson fight after that session. Hobson actually told him that he'd heard he'd been beaten up by two Scousers in Liverpool and that's why he was pulling out.
"
Only a select few knows what happened during that session. Adam Booth was Haye's trainer at the time—Shane McGuigan is now in the Londoner's corner.
Sparring is only sparring, too. It's an opportunity to learn and develop in a controlled environment. You would be advised not to read too much into an event that happened a long, long time ago.
But in bringing up something that happened a long time ago, Bellew has added another twist to the tale. The plot thickens...
Who Would Win?
According to a press release from bookmakers William Hill, they already have Haye priced up as a 1-5 favourite for the bout, should it actually happen.
Bellew, therefore, would be one seriously dangerous underdog.
His trainer, David Coldwell, told Robinson: "Haye carries the power to knock out anybody but let's not forget he's vulnerable as well. He was hurt by somebody like Lolenga Mock. He was put over by Jean Marc Mormeck. Any fighter who's been hurt—just like Tony—can get put over."
The mock fight happened back in 2003. More recently, Haye was dropped to the canvas by Wladimir Klitschko in 2011.
And yet, it is tough to tell if his chin can cope with a shot. His recent opponents have barely thrown a punch, let alone landed a decent one.
Bellew, meanwhile, has been susceptible to a knockdown. He was actually dropped by southpaw Makabu in Round 1. Fortunately for him, the bell sounded soon after, giving him extra time to recover.
Still, he was also dismantled by Adonis Stevenson in 2013, and had his problems coping with the heavy-handed Ovill McKenzie in the first of their two meetings, back in 2010.
As for punch power, Bellew and Haye have combined to produce 43 knockout wins in 60 fights. Basically, judges would not be required if they do ever go toe-to-toe.
In the end, it could all come down to weight.
Fight at heavyweight, and it's hard to see how Bellew can cope with his rival, even if Haye agrees to drop down to 210 pounds.
But if Bellew could somehow tempt Haye back to cruiserweight, it would level the playing field to a degree.
There is only one certainty—Bellew vs. Haye would be a fun fight to watch.
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