Tony Bellew and David Haye had a fantastic fight series to round out one another’s careers.
Meeting in 2017 and 2018, the British fighters shared the ring twice at the O2 Arena in London. Although Bellew was the victor of both fights, the two had a great rivalry that will be remembered in British boxing.
Competing at heavyweight, there was no belt on the line when the two met. However, Bellew was the WBC World Cruiserweight champion at the time.
Haye became heavyweight champion when he defeated Nikolai Valuev, however, had lost his last world title fight to Wladimir Klitschko six years prior to his first Bellew meeting.
Looking back on their first fight, the two fighters gave their thoughts on the bout that had an unorthodox ending.
Tony Bellew and David Haye rewatch their first fight
Ahead of their 2018 rematch, both Bellew and Haye sat down to rewatch their first meeting with SportBible.
Speaking as he watched his walkout, Haye said, “I couldn’t wait to get in there and get him [Bellew] out of there. Let my hands go and knock him out.”
Haye would go on to say that he was surprised at how his opponent came out in the first round, saying Bellew was ‘more lively’ than he normally would be. Bellew said that he started the fight ‘switched on’ in anticipation of a huge blow from Haye.
After Bellew caught his opponent with a left hook, Haye said that the punch knocked him off balance. Then, he would add, “Thank God this guy can’t hit because I’d been hit by Klitschko, and Valuev, and some giants… if I had of been hit by a shot [from them], that he hit me with in the first round, the bare minimum, it would’ve shook me to my boots.”
As Haye threw punches in response, he was unable to find the target, to which Bellew said, “I’ve just made him look absolutely stupid.”
David Haye and Tony Bellew discuss the fight-ending injury
The first meeting between Haye and Bellew had somewhat of an unusual finish. In the sixth round, Haye ruptured his Achilles tendon, causing the fighter significant problems.
Speaking on the injury Haye said, “I heard an almighty crunch. I looked down at my leg cause I thought my foot went through the canvas.”
‘Hayemaker’ said that the injury caused him to change how he positioned himself, feeling like he had to sacrifice some of his power to stay in the fight. “I’m not going to quit, no way.”
However, just after the injury, Bellew would hit the canvas following a blow. Haye claimed it was from a left hook, while Bellew said a head clash caused the knockdown.
Despite the injury occurring in round six, the fight would not end until the 11th round.
Haye did not watch the 11th round of the bout, claiming that what happened beyond the sixth round would never happen again. The final round would see Haye get knocked down just before his corner threw in the towel.
The pair would rematch the following year, however, the result would be the same. Getting knocked down three times, Haye would lose the rematch via fifth-round TKO.
Although Haye would retire after their sequel bout, Bellew would face Oleksandr Usyk in the final match of his career. However, Bellew feels the referee saved his life against Usyk, as the Englishman lost via brutal knockout.