Tony Bellew is now a popular pundit who remains deeply immersed in the sport despite being retired.
Bellew had a storied career that saw him rise up through the ranks and win belts at every level. There were plenty of ups and downs along the way, including an early loss to Welshman Nathan Cleverly at light-heavyweight in 2011, though he avenged that in the rematch three years later.
In between times he travelled to the US for his first major world title shot and was beaten inside six rounds by Adonis Stevenson, though was hugely drained at the weight.
He moved up and established himself at cruiserweight before beating Ilunga Makabu for the WBC world title in 2016. He defended it against BJ Flores, then twice beat David Haye at heavyweight and bowed out after a valiant losing effort against Oleksandr Usyk for undisputed cruiserweight honours in 2018.
Speaking to Froch on Fighting, Bellew was asked about his current favourite fighter and went with American lightweight world champion, Gervonta Davis
“[Gervonta] ‘Tank’ Davis.’ He’s just ruthless. He’s a killer. Gervonta Davis’s strengths are people underestimate his boxing ability. His IQ is fantastic. Look at how he places his shots. Look at the finishing punches he finds. People miss that, they just go ‘he’s so powerful, he’s just a knockout puncher.’
“They don’t see the cute things he does. Watch the cute things he does inside. Look how he’s looking for you to make mistakes. He sets traps. The punch he drops Garcia with the first time it’s an amazing trap he sets. The one he gets Frank Martin with as well. It’s two completely different styles.”
Davis has been rather inactive of late. He has had marquee wins over Ryan Garcia and Leo Santa Cruz, but only fought once in 2024 when he beat Frank Martin.
Next time out he is to defend his WBA belt against Lamont Roach on March 1 but fight fans would rather see unifications with WBC star Shakur Stevenson, WBO champion Keyshawn Davis or IBF strap holder Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Time is running out for the knockout artist from Baltimore to make those fights, as he has announced he will be retiring, or at least taking a significant break, from the sport at the end of this year at just 31-years-old.
