Tony Bellew achieved plenty at 175lbs, but his dream of reaching the top was dented in 2013 when he was defeated by Adonis Stevenson when winning the WBC title.
Afterwards, Bellew would move to cruiserweight and heavyweight, but he left the light heavyweight division with his head held high after capturing various titles.
This weekend, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View , Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol will collide for all the marbles in Bellew’s old weight class and the Liverpool man is excited for the clash.
His memorable run in the division saw Bellew compete against big names such as Nathan Cleverly, Ovill McKenzie, and Isaac Chilmeba, but how does Bellew think he would fare against this weekend’s combatants?
In an exclusive column with DAZN News , Bellew gives us the lowdown on how fights with Beterbiev and Bivol would play out.
- Read next | Artur Beterbiev includes five undisputed champions in his top five pound-for-pound fighters
Bellew vs. Bivol
This is a very difficult fight for me and I’m not sure how the best way would be to approach it as I’m going in with a man who is superb in every department.
I’ve always said that Oleksandr Usyk was the best fighter I ever faced and in terms of skill, Bivol is right up there when I compare him to my old rival.
Getting past his jab is a big problem and even if you manage to do that, can you land enough shots of your own to turn the fight in your favour.
Canelo tried everything against Bivol, and he always had an answer. He beat Canelo to the jab and even when the Mexican let his hands go, Bivol would tighten up then just come back with attacks of his own.
I’d try and box my way into this fight, and set a fast pace, but that may play into his hands if I can’t make an impact on him in the first half of the fight.
He’s just too clever and although I’d welcome the challenge to step into the ring with him, I’m not sure I’d have enough to get the win.
| 11.15pm | Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol | IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA light heavyweight titles |
| 10pm | Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke 2 | For Wardley's British heavyweight title |
| 9pm | Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey | For Opetaia's IBF cruiserweight title |
| 8pm | Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta | Middleweight |
| 7pm | Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman | For Nicolson's WBC women's featherweight title |
| 6pm | Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron | Light heavyweight |
| 5.35pm | Mohammaed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez | Lightweight |
Bellew vs. Beterbiev
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Now this is a fight I have a better chance in, but saying that, this is still going to be very hard.
Beterbiev gives you opportunities and his defence is nowhere as tight as Bivol’s, but when he’s hurt, he’s very dangerous.
You’ve seen fighters drop him and inflict damage on him, and that tells me with the right plan and biting down on your gum shield, you might be able to make a dent in him.
Getting close and trying to get into an exchange with him would be my plan, but I’d need to be smart about what was coming back because one shot and it’s goodnight.
Towards the end of my run at light-heavyweight I was struggling so bad with my weight and that was a huge factor in my loss to Stevenson. If I went into a fight against Beterbiev in similar condition, then it would be over for me very quickly.
Full health and feeling good then I’d be confident of landing something big on him, but he’s shown brilliant powers of recovery before so one shot might be enough.
I’d have some success against him because I’ve seen lesser fighters than me do well facing him, but I just worry about him coming forward all night and hitting whatever he can see.
I’d have moments, but I’m not sure I’d have enough, and the second half of this one could be very hard.
Watch Beterbiev vs. Bivol and huge undercard on DAZN
Watch Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol and the full fight card on October 12 on DAZN Pay-Per-View, which includes Fabio Wardley, Frazer Clark, Chris Eubank Jr, Jai Opetaia, Ben Whittaker and Skye Nicolson all fighting.
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