Tony Bellew confirmed his retirement back in 2018, knowing that his best days were behind him and he would leave an impressive legacy. He believes other should follow suit.
The former cruiserweight world champion was stopped by Oleksandr Usyk in his final bout in November 2018, officially confirming that he was to hang up the gloves later that month.
Usyk of course fought on, moving up to heavyweight to become undisputed champion by beating Anthony Joshua for the WBA, WBO and IBF belts and then Tyson Fury for the WBC.
Fury, who has himself now retired, won his title from hard-hitting Deontay Wilder, who has not looked the same fighter since his two knockouts losses at the hands of the big Brit.
Bellew believes Wilder’s dangerous days are gone, taking to social media following his latest loss to Zhilei Zhang to urge retirement.
“I wish Deontay Wilder well and hope he now thinks about his wealth and ultimately his health … He’s done. Resistance and hunger are both gone.”
Wilder was knocked out by Zhang inside five rounds, failing to bounce back from a previous points loss to Joseph Parker. In both defeats he looked far from his best, and struggled to unload his famous right hand.
Despite Bellew and others in the sport feeling that it is time for him to call it a day, the 39-year-old has announced his comeback fight against American heavyweight Tyrrell Hernson on June 27.
Should he win, a long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua may be on the table.
