Tony Bellew has officially called time on his remarkable career, after he failed in his bid to unify the division after a devastating eighth round knockout defeat to Oleksandr Usyk on November 10. Bellew, who made his professional debut in 2007, also held the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles and European Cruiserweight title in his career.
The 35 year-old posted a video on social media to officially announce he was hanging up his gloves for good.
It is time for me to finally leave the ring, the bell has rung for the final time and I want to thank you all for the support you have given me over the years, it is not the end of my story though so keep an eye on https://t.co/hsCbVmBcMc #bomberbellew #retirement pic.twitter.com/jDUdFZWiB5
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) November 22, 2018
“It is time for me to finally leave the ring, the bell has rung for the final time and I want to thank you all for the support you have given me over the years,” Bellew said on Twitter.
“Today I am announcing that I am officially retired, there will be no more fighting. The only thing you will see me doing from hereon in is trying to act sensible and behave myself.”
Furthermore, after one defence of his Cruiserweight title against BJ Flores, Bellew stepped up to heavyweight and shocked the boxing world by defeating David Haye in two lucrative fights in 2017 and 2018.
The Liverpudlian, with an impressive record won 30 of his 34 professional fights went on to say his greatest achievement in his boxing career was beating Ilunga Makabu at Goodison Park and becoming WBC Cruiserweight champion of the world in 2016.
When asked what might tempt him out of retirement, Bellew joked: “Eddie [Hearn] gets £100m together for me and offers me one more fight, what do I say? Wow, wow – that is probably what I would say.
Wow, wow and then walk into the missus and say ‘Eddie has come on board with £100m’ and she would probably hand me divorce papers. Money is good but money comes and goes, that is the best way of saying it.”
From being a fan of Tony Bellew for many years now, I hope to see him stay involved in boxing in some degree because he is an inspiration and will be pivotal for the next generation of fighters coming through the ranks.
How would you describe Tony Bellew career? Let us know in the comment section below.
