Tony Bellew has revealed who he thinks is the most exciting current fighter in boxing.
Bellew’s passion for the sport runs deep. Since retiring after a pair of back-to-back wins over David Haye back in 2018, he has continued to work as a pundit and never shies away from an honest opinion.
Bellew has now turned his attention to the unlikely upcoming fight between Americans Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis.
Paul has so far picked his opponents wisely on his way to 12 wins from 13 fights, with victories over ageing stars and former MMA fighters like Julio César Chávez Jr, Nate Diaz and most famously Mike Tyson, who was more than twice his age when they fought.
He has one loss to Tommy Fury, the only legitimate boxer he has fought in his prime. On November 14, he faces the toughest test of his career when he takes on multi-weight world champion Davis.
Speaking to Fightlens, Bellew said Davis was the one he deems to be ‘the most exciting’ in boxing, and he spoke about what he thinks ‘Tank’ could do to Paul.
“I’m not going to lie, if Tank hits him clean, he’s going to sleep. Tank has legitimate power. He’ll have a lot of smoke blown up his backside by his coaching team but when he gets hit for real, even with 16oz gloves, he’s going to need them.
“Cause if he was to get hit by a pair of 8oz gloves off Tank Davis he’s going to sleep. Tank can really hit. I’d go so far as saying Tank is probably the most exciting fighter in the world.
“He’s vicious, he’s a finisher and yeah I can’t get my head round it, he’s going to be fighting someone who is the legitimate size of a cruiserweight.”
Paul has boxed as heavy as 227lbs, while ‘Tank’ has never competed above the 140lb limit, and this contest comes as a 195lbs catchweight exhibition bout.
‘Tank’ Davis has 28 knockouts from 30 wins, making him one of the most powerful champions, pound-for-pound, in the sport. Though many agree that he is one of the most exciting active fighters, he has received backlash for accepting this exhibition with Paul instead of chasing meaningful fights in the form of a unification with Shakur Stevenson or a rematch with Lamont Roach Jr. The 30-year-old from Baltimore has previously said he will retire soon.
