British boxing favorite Tony Bellew is one of the sport’s biggest personalities as the former champion is beloved by many.
From Bellew’s heartfelt performance against Oleksandr Usyk to his brace of wins over David Haye, there are plenty of memorable moments from the ‘Bomber’.
As a former cruiserweight world champion, Bellew was involved in some huge fights throughout his career. However, there was one fight in particular that the Scouse fighter feels made the bigger change in his life.
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Tony Bellew on how David Haye fight changed his life
Bellew would meet Haye for the first time in 2017, as the two have a brace of bouts. In the all-English dust-up, it would be Bellew who would be victorious in both heavyweight fights.
Not only did the fight series lead to a fight with Usyk, but Bellew also said it helped to change his life drastically.
Speaking on The Diary of a CEO, Bellew reminisced on how his showdowns with Haye impacted him. “I’m now a public figure [after beating Haye],” Bellew said.
The boxer said that even though he was previously a world champion and starred in the boxing movie ‘Creed’, his fight with Haye made him more of a household name.
“Your grandmothers knew me at this stage… After beating David, it’s now gone to a different level… When I beat him, it [my fame] goes absolutely insane.”
Bellew would go on to say that the fight made him a multimillionaire, despite having to wait several weeks to receive box office payments.
Tony Bellew defeated David Haye twice via knockout
The British pair would meet for the first time in March 2017.
Fighting in the O2 Arena in London, the two competed in a heavyweight non-title fight, with Bellew winning the fight with TKO.
Haye ruptured his Achilles tendon in the sixth round, causing a huge turning point in the fight. Then, in the 11th round, Bellew was able to score the stoppage win.
The two then had a fantastic build-up to their rematch in 2018, which included Bellew and Haye rewatching their first meeting. However, it would be the same result when the two fought the following year.
After being downed twice in the third round, Haye would suffer another stoppage loss in the fifth.
The bout would be the final one of Haye’s career, while Bellew went on to fight Usyk.