Tony Bellew has tasted the full force of Oleksandr Usyk‘s punches.
Bellew won the WBC Cruiserweight World Title with a KO win over Ilunga Makabu in front of fans at his beloved Everton ground in 2016, then defend it against BJ Flores with another knockout.
His next two fights were forays up to heavyweight to take on bitter rival David Haye, himself a former cruiser and heavyweight champion.
Both fights ended in knockout wins for Bellew who then announced his desire to go for undisputed back down at cruiserweight against Usyk. The Ukrainian had snatched the WBC belt from Mairis Briedis, who had won it when it became vacant after Bellew moved up in weight.
The Liverpudlian started well and imposed himself on the Ukraine, winning rounds on the cards. However, the constant from foot pressure of Usyk eventually paid off, Bellew began to tire mentally and physically. He was stunned and then caught with a raking left hand to leave him flat out on the canvas in the eighth.
Bellew has stated many times since that Usyk was his hardest ever fight and, speaking to TalkSPORT, he has gave his honest opinion on the all-time great’s power and instead it was more stiff than hard.
“He’s not the biggest puncher. It’s a stiff [punch]. He gets your respect. Haye was the one who had the most power. I’m certain on that.”
Usyk moved up to heavyweight after beating Bellew and remains unbeaten having bested Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, twice each, to become undisputed champion. He is expected to rematch Daniel Dubois for a third crack at undisputed honours next, with ‘DDD’ being one of his only stoppage wins at heavyweight.
