Tony Bellew faced Oleksandr Usyk in 2018 for the IBF, WBC, and WBO World Cruiserweight belts, with the result not going the way of the Merseyside fighter.
Meeting in the Manchester Arena, Usyk’s win over Bellew would extend his unbeaten record to 16-0. As for Bellew, the loss was just the third of his career.
The fight would be the final outing of Bellew’s career, as he was coming off of back-to-back TKO wins over David Haye going into the Usyk clash.
The loss to the Ukranain would also snap a five-year unbeaten run from ‘Bomber’. However, despite losing the bout, there was one thing Bellew was grateful for about the loss.
Tony Bellew thanked the referee for saving his life versus Oleksandr Usyk
Usyk would win the fight in Manchester via eighth-round TKO, in what was a close fight for the most part. Although Bellew looked as if he could be working his way towards a victory, he would get caught in round eight.
The round would begin with Usyk finding more success as he started to land significant shots on Bellew. On the back foot, Bellew would eventually get caught by a quick one-two combination, sending him crashing into the ropes.
Unable to get to his feet in time, Bellew was waved off and Usyk took home the cruiserweight belts.
On an episode of ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here,’ when the boxer was a contestant, Bellew recalled his thoughts on the bout expressing his gratitude for the fight being stopped.
“Thank God the ref didn’t let me [continue] because he would have killed me. The ref literally saved my life. Next shot probably puts me away for good. So boxing at the highest level in the professional business is brutal. My priority was to make it home safe. After that, it was win at all costs.”
Less than two weeks after the loss to Usyk, Bellew would formally announce his retirement.
As for Usyk, he would make the move up a division following the cruiserweight fight and would go on to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
Tony Bellew explains why Oleksandr Usyk is so good
Adding to his previous comments about the Usyk bout, Bellew would go on to explain that it wasn’t the Ukrainian’s strength or athleticism that made him a great boxer.
Comparing him to other fighters he faced in the past, Bellew talked about the intelligence of the multi-division champion.
“I’ve fought stronger people, I’ve fought quicker people, but I’ve never fought someone like him who has got everything. Oleksandr doesn’t create angles, he works you out. He downloads what you do. He’s downloading all the data.”
Despite thinking very highly of Usyk, the Ukranian was not named as the greatest boxer the Scouser has ever seen. Bellew said that Roy Jones Jr. was the greatest boxer he had seen instead.