Tony Bellew has faced one of the greatest heavyweights of the modern era in Oleksandr Usyk, but has picked another of his opponents as the one who hit him the hardest.
Bellew competed from 2007 to 2018 and became the WBC cruiserweight champion in 2016 after a knockout victory over Ilunga Makabu at the home of his beloved Everton FC, despite being knocked down hard himself in the opening round.
After that, he defended the belt against BJ Flores, and in his final fight he stepped up a level to take on the great Usyk in an undisputed contest in November 2018. Despite a strong start, he eventually tired and was knocked out in the eighth round.
While speaking to DAZN, Bellew admitted the one man who hit him harder than all the rest was the man he beat not once, but twice in his last two fights before that ill-fated night with Usyk.
“[David] Haye was the one who had the most power. I’m certain on that. Stevenson hit me hard, but I was in there that night without much resistance because of the weight struggles. He could certainly punch.
“I knew Haye’s power was going to be a problem from when I sparred him, and he really could bang. There’ll be many fighters who fought Haye who’ll tell you all about how much power he had.”
Bellew fought Haye in March 2017 then again in May 2018, winning both contests by knockout, although, as was often the case in Haye’s later years, his body let him down and injuries played a big part in him losing.
Before that, he was a unified cruiserweight champion who moved up to become heavyweight champion by beating the division’s tallest-ever belt holder, Nikolai Valuev, in 2009.
