Only being bested three times in his career, Tony Bellew can be considered a true hero of modern British boxing.
With Bellew’s final fight coming against Oleksandr Usyk, the former world champion took on formidable opponents across his career.
With a total career tally of 30 wins, three losses, and a draw, the ‘Bomber’ had an impressive 11-year career.
A knockout of Ilunga Makabu in 2016 would make Bellew a world champion for the first time. However, Bellew had been showing his finishing ability for years before his title win.
Tony Bellew stopped Edison Miranda with a crippling body shot
Suffering the first loss of his career in 2011 to Nathan Cleverly, Bellew was able to bounce back with a victory against Danny McIntosh in April 2012.
Looking to make it back-to-back wins, Bellew took on former Andre Ward opponent Edison Miranda (35-7). The fight would take place in London in September 2012, as Bellew added another win to his resume.
Starting to pick his shots against the Colombian in round nine, Bellew was beginning to cause significant damage to a retreating Miranda. A stinging left hook to the body of Miranda would cause the fighter to take a knee in the bout.
With the shot seemingly too damaging for Miranda to continue, he was unable to beat the referee’s count.
The win was Bellew’s 12th stoppage, as his record improved to 18-1.
Tony Bellew’s final career stoppage came in 2018 against David Haye
With a knockout percentage of 66%, Bellew was able to win 20 of his 30 victories by way of knockout.
In what would turn out to be the final win of his career, Bellew’s final stoppage came against a rival and fellow countryman.
After a somewhat inconclusive ending to Bellew vs David Haye, due to ‘The Hayemaker’ suffering a ruptured Achilles in the fight, the rivals ran it back.
Meeting in June 2018, the headline bout in London would once again end in Bellew’s favor. Knocking Haye down three times, the former cruiserweight world champion scored a brace of victories over the heavyweight.
Bellew would compete just once more in his career following the win, against Usyk.