In an exclusive interview with CasinoBeats, Tony Bellew gave his opinion on the chaos and drama that unfolded between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn. He also spoke on his admiration for fellow scouser Nick Ball.
Q: Tony, you were out in Belfast. It was a hugely dramatic night. Lewis Crocker was awarded the win after Paddy Donovan was disqualified by the referee Marcus McDonnell. It was intense, lots of so called headbutts, but not really in your view were they?
Tony Bellew: Listen, I thought they were coming together. I thought both were to blame at times. I thought Paddy a little bit more blame could have been placed on him, but he’s the guy pushing Lewis Crocker back all the time. And Lewis Crocker is a fighter who comes forward non stop. He’s like fighting against a brick wall. And you just can’t get him to go back. So when you’re pushing him, his body stays static and still. And when you’re an immovable object, your body leans in and as he was leaning in with the push, his head was coming together, but Crocker’s also there with the head.
So it’s a coming together of both. And the crazy part about it is Marcus Macdonald, the referee on the night, says neither of the cuts that Lewis Crocker received were from headbutts. He said they were from punches. So it just lets you know that what are you seeing? What are you doing? And then after that I think if we get into round eight or nine, whichever round it was. Paddy Donovan’s on top. He drops Lewis Crocker and then fair play to Crocker. He comes out fighting. He really let the right hand go. After getting up from that knockdown, he lets his hands go, lands a huge right hand on Paddy Donovan, but then he’s hit again and the bell goes. And as the bell goes, without a shadow of a doubt, Paddy Donovan is in the midst of an exchange and lands a punch after the bell. I’d say it’s a second after the bell and he’s throwing shots before that bell goes. And if anything, it’s poor by the referee. And I’m sorry to say it because I don’t want to be calling out anyone on the job or calling out referees especially but Marcus McDonald was found wanting. He should have been in the midst of it when that exchange was taking place all night. When it came to the end of the rounds, it’s a close fight and it’s a really hard fight. Both these fighters are unbeaten. They’re trying to win the round. Every round means something in these kinds of fights. You’ve got to get it over the line and you want to have the last say. And to land the punch, a smidgen after the bell and to be disqualified and thrown out. Yes. Okay. People are going to say he had two warnings. He was headbutting. He weren’t headbutting. Let’s be clear. He wasn’t directly clearly headbutting. It’s just a coming together. Both fighters are culpable to be honest. I’ll take it on the chin and say Paddy was a little bit more culpable than Crocker, but ultimately the both of them were coming at it. Marcus MacDonald makes that decision. For me, he’s made it off the cuff. He’s panicked.
Q: If you’re in Paddy’s shoes though, you’ve had two warnings, you need to keep that in mind.. You’re treading a fine line.
Tony Bellew: You do, but it’s not the head that comes in. So he’s on one final warning for the head, but getting into an exchange in the final punch of the round, he’s trying to win the round. All fighters want to win the last 10, 15, 20 seconds of the round. It’s a big, big thing. And because he dropped Crocker, he knew he was on the verge again and he was on the verge of stopping him, the right hook lands. And I feel for Paddy and I really feel for Lewis Crocker as well. I’m not gonna lie, I feel for him. ’cause he showed such bravery, people saying he was looking for a way out. I don’t agree with that.
I don’t agree with that. So Lewis Crocker was a warrior. He stood there, he took it. And let me make no mistake. He was losing this fight. He was on the verge of being stopped. And I think Marcus McDonald made the knee jerk reaction to the punch off the bell. Why doesn’t he just stop the boxing, just stop the time? Because you have to look at it, if he gets hit with a low blow there, there’s no way he’s disqualifying him. What he does is he gives you the five minutes to recover and if you give someone five minutes to recover you calm the whole thing down. Because they were having many little riots in the stadium. It was nuts. And this is just passionate fans. The Irish are some of the best fans in the world. It’s just people having a couple of drinks and getting a little bit ahead of themselves. But ultimately Marcus MacDonald lit the paper. And he set it off, mate. And it was a knee jerk reaction. But he just threw him out. He disqualified him. He’s an experienced ref, isn’t he? Like, it’s not out of his depth. No. He’s been in big fights before. And I just think it was a knee jerk reaction decision. And referees can never do that. They have to be able to slow down. It’s a skilled art being a referee. And you’ve got to be able to slow things down in time. And then make the correct decision. And by Marcus Macdonald giving Lewis Crocker five minutes, giving him some time.He goes to his corner. Paddy Donovan goes to a musical, and he can’t go to his corner and gain the advantage. But two of them, everything gets slowed down. Everything gets looked at properly. And then in that five minutes, he might tell him that it was wrong and he’s disqualified. But he’s got to give himself the time. Give himself the time to assess it. Analyse it. Maybe even look at a scope and look at a screen. Maybe listen to it. Ultimately, I just think it was a knee jerk reaction decision and I think he got it wrong and no one seems to be wanting to say it. Well, I will. I don’t care. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see the last few rounds. I think Lewis Crocker was on the verge of being stopped there, Donovan dropped him in that round as well. So he would have been dropped twice. But as I say, I’m not disputing it was a punch after the bell. I’ve seen far worse to be brutally honest. If it was a couple of seconds after that and the action had stopped, I’d have said disqualify him because that’s disgusting. A bell going and a fighter being unprotected and unarmed, that’s one thing, but a fighter in the midst of an exchange and a combination, and it’s not like he stopped then went bang, he was in the midst of a combination, he was letting his hands go. It’s a tough one. He was going for the stoppage. I think Marcus Mcdonald’s made the mistake. And hopefully he identifies it and accepts it, takes it on the chin, and he learns from it as well..
Q: Do you think we’ll see a rematch now then, coming up later in this year? Or will they both go their separate ways?
Tony Bellew: I think it’s tough because Paddy Donovan’s gonna want to run it back straight away. Is Lewis Crocker gonna want to run it back straight away? Now that he’s mandatory for the title. He’s got a really good path in front of him now. I don’t see either facing Jaron Ennisa, the IBF champion. I think they should run it back. I’m just not sure both parties will want to.
Q: Elsewhere, Gervonta Davis retained his WBA lightweight title with a controversial majority draw against Lamont Roach. I think Lamont Roach exceeded a lot of people’s expectations in that fight. But the controversial moment came when Tank took the knee. Apparently his hair grease was stinging and burning his eye. Couldn’t see. Took the knee. The ref didn’t judge it as taking the knee. So therefore the judges didn’t score it as such. Two judges gave it as a draw. One to Tank, he maintains his unbeaten record, but at what cost to his reputation?
Tony Bellew: Another one where referees really messed up. And Steve Willis is a brilliant referee, by the way. I love him. He’s one of my favourite referees. He’s animated, he’s in the fights, he’s about it. Any close exchange, he’s always there. I’ve seen the guy jump into punches to stop fighters from getting hit. I’ve seen him do it many times. He made a catastrophic error there. Lamont Roach is going to be absolutely heartbroken. Well, do you know what? I’ve watched a few interviews with him. I’ve seen the fight and I’ve seen the incident. And Gervonta Davis takes a knee there and it’s a count all day. There’s just no dispute, no way, shape or form.
It’s a count and I don’t want to hear that he got grease in the eye. That’s a you problem. That’s not a me problem. So Lamont Roach had every right to be crying out and saying that it was a count. And it is a count because what are we going to be doing next? When a fighter gets tired, he’s going to say he’s got grease in his eyes. It’s exhausting, you can’t do it. I feel for the ref because he obviously knows it’s not a knockdown, and essentially it’s not a knockdown. He’s took a couple of punches, I’ve seen it. He’s just took a couple of shots. But what he’s then got to do is, he’s got to stay on his feet, he’s got to back up to his corner, he’s got to tell the referee he’s got something in his eye. The minute he takes the knee, it is a count because at no point in a fight can you show your opponent distress and expect them not to capitalise. If he takes a step back, shows everyone he’s not in distress, then tells the referee about his eye. The referee can then stop the timer and get his eye cleaned out.
Q: Tank says Keyshawn Davis and Shakur Stevenson must fight each other so he can fight the winner. But Keyshawn Davis said he won’t fight Stevenson because they’ve got this brotherly pact. So they’re refusing to fight. But where does that leave the division?
Tony Bellew:: I get it. They don’t want to fight each other. And they shouldn’t be forced to. There’s enough people who are frenemies in the game to not want to fight your friend. You very rarely get true, real hostile enemies in boxing. I’ve had them, and I’ve had them where a fighter can’t stand me. And then I’ve had some where I absolutely despise them. I mean, I’ve got fighters who I’ve fought who I don’t even get along with now, like Nathan Cleverley. But ultimately, what happens in the ring, ends in the ring. And it’s job done then. But I just feel with Shakur and the other kid, Keyshawn Davis, I just think the families are close. Why? They don’t need to fight each other. Of course, Gervonta Davis is going to want to throw a grenade into a room. That’s his way of avoiding it, but both of them are world champions, so face both of them. One after the other. You want to be unified. Everyone wants to be unified champion, and I must admit in today’s game, it’s getting easier to become a unified champion, purely down to the fact of these managers, promoters, advisors, they’re all being brought together because of his excellency Turki Al-Sheikh, and he’s making it easier to make unification fights. So we’ve seen more unification fights in the last five years than we’ve had in the last five decades.
Q: Well, that’s why boxing is in such a good place at the moment, but maybe the lightweight division is one that’s going to be a bit of a sticking point because Gervonta Davis doesn’t fancy going out. It’s him versus Turki, isn’t it? They’ve been going back and forth.
Tony Bellew: I’ve seen some of the comments he makes, but you have to understand that Turki Al-Sheikh is the best thing that’s happened to boxing. Since Harold Smith, no one has challenged the hierarchy of boxing. The hierarchy of boxing has always been Don King, Bob Arum. Now, in this country, it’s Eddie Hearn, Frank Warren. And no one’s been able to bring these together. No one’s been able to challenge them. In America right now, you’ve still got Don King, Bob Arum, Oscar de Lahoya.They’re all going at it. But ultimately, the hierarchy of boxing has been brought together. Doesn’t matter where they’re going, where they’re from. The only ones who haven’t got on the ship yet is PBC. But PBC aren’t putting on enough shows for the fighters. PBC have some of the best fighters in the world. I don’t dispute that. And Al Haymon is an amazing businessman who gives fighters amazing opportunities, but let’s be brutally honest here, he’s not giving them enough opportunities.
There’s not enough dates to fight. Must be very frustrating. Gervonta Davis has to be fighting three times a year minimum. He’s just said that he wants to fight again. He’s got a name he wants to call out. He didn’t tell us the name. He’s keeping it under wraps.
But he then went on to say he won’t get the fight this year. But we were in February when he fought. How are you not getting three more fights in this year? Well at least one or two more. He finishes now, he should be fighting in May or June. May, June, July, any of them months, and then you want a good winter, December fight. There’s no problem.
Q: If we speak about a very active fighter from your hometown, Nick Ball, back in action March 15th against TJ Doheny. Who I think he fought Naio Inoue last, didn’t he? Is he jumping up from Super Bantamweight for this one? Respect to Nick Ball, he’s one of the most active world champions in the world. And always puts on such a great show, doesn’t he?
Tony Bellew: Nick Ball gives such value for money. That boy just gets in the ring and he fights and fights non stop. Aggression. I’d go as far as to say I think Nick Ball is the fittest fighter in the country. He’s relentless. He’s literally the Tasmanian devil. He is all over you, he is not letting you off the hook. He fights fire with fire. He’s a fan’s favourite. And as a watch for pure excitement, I’d go as far as saying he’s the most exciting fighter in this country. I can’t see past him. Now what you want is you want to match him with really good boxers. So we’ve seen him with Raymond Ford where he beat him for the world title.
You’ve seen in them two fights, with the Vargas and the Ford fights, even in a loss with one of them, it’s still an unbelievable fight and a win that can go either way. Against boxers, he’s unbelievably good. And that should be his real weakness. That should be his kryptonite facing boxers. But because he’s so committed and because he’s so good at what he does, he makes them fight. They all end up fighting in his fight, and his fights are just fireworks.
I love watching him mate and I can’t wait to see him back. You think we’ll ever see the rematch with Rey Vargas? He hasn’t fought since then. It’s one of them where inactivity is gonna do him the world of damage.
Q: Let’s talk, you mentioned earlier about fighters who genuinely hate each other. Do you think Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. genuinely hate each other?
Tony Bellew: I don’t think it, I know! I think hatred is too strong of a word. I think the hatred goes one way. And I understand why Conor would hate Chris because of all the things that were done in the background to Conor. But I think with Chris, this is purely business. This is purely business. I don’t think he quite likes him very much. But I’m telling you now, it’s a good thing that Conor’s in Spain. Because imagine them two bumping into each other on the high streets on a Sunday afternoon. No one needs that, no one wants it, but it’s inevitable. So you literally have to navigate your way through these camps and keep these two boys away from each other. Because I’ve been there with this kind of animosity and I’ve been there with this kind of domestic rivalry. It eats away at you. It’s not nice. It literally eats away at you. It’s on your mind daily. It’s an intense build up, like I said, I’ve been there with David Haye fights with Nathan Cleverley fights with Ovill McKenzie rematches. Isaac Chilemba rematches, all them fights I’ve named have gone to heated rivalries. Two of them were domestic ones, well three of them really, Ovill McKenzie was based over here. Nathan Cleverley, that was real nasty because I wanted to hurt him, I didn’t like him, I still don’t like him. With David Haye, for me, it was business, but I got to him that much. David said he really wanted to hurt me and he still says that to everyone who listens. And after that first fight, he got to me really bad. It’s just one of them things.
Q: Do you think Chris Eubank crossed the line with the egg slap. Do you think that’s all fair in promo?
Tony Bellew: Do you know what? I’d have said no if he slapped the egg on top of his head. But it’s a slap in the face towards the eye. People have to realize (I’ve got two scratched eyeballs) that the eyeballs are the part of the body that never heals. So the best way to explain it is that it would be like varnishing a door. And the varnish comes off and then you’ve got to re-put the varnish back on. The liquid on the eye comes off and the cornea gets damaged. As I say I’ve got two scratched eyeballs. One was in a fight and the other one was pissing out in a swimming pool many years before. I can’t actually explain the pain. It’s unbelievable. If he’d have got an egg shell in that eye. It could have jeopardised the whole fight and his eyesight because people are going to say, ‘oh lad, it’s an egg’. But it’s the little stupid things like that which could cost you the fight. Smashing an egg on top of his head, it would have been funny. You know, or throwing an egg at him. I don’t think Conor would have found it funny. No, I know Conor wouldn’t have found it funny, but I’m trying to look at it from a neutral, unbiased perspective. You slap an egg on the top of his head, it’s funny, the egg’s gone everywhere, but on the face and in the eye, wow, it’s just wrong. But, I think this fight’s just gone to another level. This is, quite simply, the biggest fight this country’s ever seen. It’s going to be huge. There’s 135,000 people on the waiting list.It only holds 75-80,000. It’s absolutely insane. It’ll keep growing and growing and growing. And I just hope they can put their minds at ease now. Go back to the training camp and let’s get through this and get to fight week.
Q: Quick one about Ben Shalom. Do you think he knew what Chris Eubank Jr was gonna do? Cause he denied it and he said he didn’t even know what he was going to say, let alone slap him with the egg, but Eddie Hearn’s convinced he knew.
Tony Bellew: I don’t really know Ben but I would like to think he didn’t know. Well, do you know what, thinking of Chris, no, I don’t think he did. That kid doesn’t trust a single soul. I know that for a fact. Because he actually does not trust a soul.
And the last person he’s going to tell is a promoter. Who’s very, very likely to open his trap. He doesn’t tell a soul anything to be fair. He’s pretty private.
Q: One man, one man army at this point, isn’t he? Did you see Eddie Hearn trying to force Ben Shalom into a million pound bet on the outcome of the fight?
Tony Bellew: I don’t think Eddie wants to do a million pound bet, I think he agreed a hundred grand and then Derek’s forcing him. Del’s trying to force it on and listen, when it comes to wealth and money, there’s very few that can get anywhere near Matchroom at the end. I think Ben Shalom’s seen his backside a little bit there, but listen. I wouldn’t bet a million quid whether I was a billionaire or not. Not for me.
Q: You see Conor Benn on the pitch at Wembley, running up to Ben Shalom?
Tony Bellew: Do you know what the funniest part was? Eddie switched as much as Ben Shalom did. I think the two of them switched. They’re both skating on thin ice, as far as Conor Benn’s concerned. Conor’s a lively kid. He’s a lovely, lovely boy. I’ve known him a long time, and he’s a lovely, lovely kid. He’s quite emotional, isn’t he? Yes, he’s emotionally charged, to say the least. When you fight with that emotion, it can be draining. It can also galvanise you and push you at times, but it can also drain you. Like, I went into the Nathan Cleverley rematch and I worked so hard in that camp. Everything went right in camp, everything was good, the sparring brilliant, the camp finished really well. I had no severe injuries, I had a couple of minor niggles, but no severe injury. And when I was walking to the ring, he walked first, I walked second. When the fire went off behind me in the ring, I felt exhausted. I was emotionally invested in the fight. I fought that fight like an exhausted man who was just trying to win. I won it. I’ve done enough all day.
I won it clearly, I just got on his chest and worked. But I didn’t show it, it was because I was emotionally invested in the fight. The performance was dire for me. It wasn’t great, but like I said, I just made the fight rough. Up close and personal, and just outlanded him.
Conor, if he feels any kind of exhaustion, the last thing you want to do is be in the ring with a bigger man. I think this fight is two fights over 12 rounds. It’s a case of two fights in one. First six, I think Conor is going to be so ferocious, so brutal, so vicious – I think he gets the job done then.
But I will tell you what, if you have not got the job done by round 6, that’s when weight divisions exist for a reason. That’s when weight classes exist for a reason. I actually think, Conor is a far better fighter than Chris Eubank Jr. is a boxer. And that’s the problem that Chris Eubank Jr’s having, he’s got this thing in his mind that he’s a masterful boxer. No, I’m sorry. No you’re not We’ve seen different sides to him over the years, but none of them really have shown that the technical level of superiority that, say Canelo has. Junior is actually a really good fighter. He used the street fight, didn’t he? He gets up close and he has a really good scrap and he gets stuck in. I can’t praise him any more highly than that, he fights well up close. I’ve seen him spiral into like a car crash and he gets stuck in really well. But when it comes to mixing with people, you know, I’m boxing with people thinking you’re a master boxer. No.
Q: George Groves schooled him to be fair, didn’t he?
Tony Bellew: He’s been schooled many times. By Billy Joe Saunders, by George Groves, he’s been absolutely schooled. And they’re master boxers as well. So he’s got to get back to having a scrap. I mean, you’re not Roy Jones Jr. and you’re never going to be Roy Jones Jr. You know, he’s the greatest fighter ever.
Q: Brilliant fighter, absolutely, absolutely. Turki Al-Sheikh said the winner of Eubank Jr. versus Conor Benn will face Canelo Alvarez. I mean, what a carrot that is to dangle in front of them. Not that they need it really at this point, but can you see either of them really troubling Canelo?
Tony Bellew: I think it’s insane. Yeah, but now he’s signed a four fight deal. I think for the spectacle, it’s huge, isn’t it? The reality of that is that it would be the easiest night of Canelo’s life. There’s a difference in the weights there. Don’t say that, Kovalev, mate, I can’t. Even though he might be at the end, well, he is at the end of Canelo.
Q: Still got plenty in the tank. Do you have a quick word about the last crescendo? It just seems like it’s longer than a week ago, but it really was only a week ago.
Tony Bellew: It was amazing. It was just unbelievable. What these two fighters went through. Yeah. I think I picked Dmitry Bivol with you guys before.I thought he’d win. I just think time is not on Beterbiev’s side anymore. I just think, you know, he’s still amazing and I still think he defeats every other light heavyweight in the world, but Bivol… exceptional. It’s the tactical nous of Dmitry. We’ve all got great boxing IQs at this level, at the world time championship level, we’ve all got really good boxing IQs and most of us can adapt and adjust. But to do the things that Dmitry Bivol was doing.
He was catching right hands with his lead hand and countering with his right hand. He’s planned it, it’s brilliant. It’s fantastic. So, he jabs Beterbiev and he gets Beterbiev to throw like a lazy jab. So it comes out slow. It hits Beterbiev – he’s not hardest to hit obviously – but then on its way back, Betebiev has seen it, and he’s took it, but he’s let his right hand go.
He catches his right hand, with the hand coming back and he’s caught like that and does this to block it, and then goes bang and hits it with the right hand. So it’s bang, catch, bang, bang, catch, bang. Now that doesn’t sound hard, but believe you me. At the speed and at the level he’s at. And this into consideration, you’re catching, probably the biggest punches, pound for pound in boxing right now. You’re catching his right hand on your arm, on your hand. That’s it. You misjudge that and it’s curtains. You misjudge that, you’re asleep. But that’s the kinda level these boys are at. And, and I can’t explain to you enough just how good Dmitry Bivol is, he’s exceptional. And I wasn’t always his biggest fan. I think there’s been times in fights, like with Craig Richards. At fights in Monaco, I’ve seen him a couple of times, where he’s just underperformed and I think he’s got this thing where he fights to the opponent’s level. Because we’ve seen even when he went in with Canelo, he just schooled Canelo. He absolutely schooled him. And then, he didn’t school Beterbiev, but of the two fights, believe you me. I thought he won the first, but he didn’t get a decision, but I thought it was so close, I didn’t complain. If Beterbiev had got it, I’m like, okay, I can see a reason why he got it.
But the second fight, there was no dispute. It was clear as day, it was crystal clear. And he won the second fight far more clear than Beterbiev had won the first fight. I think a third fight is only going to go the same way.
Q: Well that’s all I was going to say. Do you think, I mean now he’ll be 41, but it’ll be over by the time that maybe if Bivol drags it out, maybe he goes and fights Benavidez instead or something.
Tony Bellew: That’s the fight. I thought Callum Smith against Joshua Buatsi was great. People saying Callum Smith’s washed up. I told him the boy doesn’t, doesn’t need to be in a ring that tells you he’s not washed up. Cause when you, when you’re financially secure and you carry on fighting, it tells you an awful lot about the fighter. I know, I’ve been there. Once I’d beaten Haye twice, that’s it, then life’s fine. For the family, life is financially secure for us. We’re all fine. And to get back to training camp and do it, I’d done two training camps after the Haye fight. It takes something different in your mindset this time. You then realize you’re not actually in boxing for the money anymore. You’re in boxing because you love fighting. When you’ve won a world title, you’ve achieved your lifelong goal, a dream, which I done. I’ve been British Commonwealth European world champion. Once I’ve done that, it was about money. Once I’ve achieved the money, I was like, why am I still doing this?
I’m done being in the Holiday Inn Express, me and my iPad, freezing cold. Just thinking – it was about half 12 on like a Thursday night. I was a good few weeks into camp, getting ready for Usyk. And I thought, what am I doing here? What am I still doing this for? It’d be a dream to be the undisputed, unified champion when I fought him for all the belts. But I thought, do I really need this? I’ve won the one belt that I dreamed of as a kid, the green and gold. I’ve had my dream location, my dream scenario. I just thought the next day, I went to gym, I was sparring, who was it?
I had a kid over, an American kid, he was really good, and I gave him a good pounding, and when I was driving away on Friday afternoon, I thought to myself, ‘I really just do love fighting’.
Q: And also testing yourself against the best. And you could sit here and say, you were there in the room, against Oleksandr Usyk.
Tony Bellew: That’s important, ultimately. It’s when, you know, it goes on the pillow at night. Yeah, those moments of introspection. When you’ve got the money, when you’ve got the belts and you’ve won things. When you’ve achieved everything you set out to do, that’s when you go to yourself, ‘why am I still doing this?’
Q: Martin Bakole, the king of sparring, was knocked out in two rounds by Joseph Parker. Maybe that was the problem for him. It wasn’t actually a spar.
Tony Bellew: Yeah the headguards came off and the 20oz gloves came off and he found out that he’s normal just like everyone else! I mean, he said he hadn’t had a spa since August. Jesus Christ. Don’t go in there and then tell us why you’ve lost after. Tell us before. But you know, fair play. He saved the day. I give him all the credit in the world. I take my hat off to Martin Bakole because he didn’t have to do that. He was ready to face Efe Ajagba. What I will say is there’s no excuse to be walking around at 320 pounds. You’re a slob. You’re meant to be a professional athlete. You’re being paid to be a professional athlete. Live the life, mate. I hope he learns a lesson from that, because Martin Bakole is a really good fighter. He’s a problem for the heavyweight division, but what he’s just done is he’s basically just bowed to them for a few quid because no one’s going to want to face him now again, because he’s a problem. He is a real problem. You don’t want to face him, but now no one’s going to want to face him.
And you know what? He’s in the ‘who needs your club’. Whereas after a few wins, the win over Jared Anderson in America, it looked really good for him. But now this happens when fighters don’t stay in shape. Compare him to Josh Padley. Great fight. Similar notice. That’s the difference. He was ready to go, Josh Padley. I’ll be honest, he had to make weight as well. Not because he didn’t have to just let you, just let you know that that’s the difference between a professional athlete. And he’s got a full time job. Well, still going on a plane.
I give that lad so much credit. And he went in with one of the best pound pound fights in the world. Cause Shaq’s right up there. And I say he went in, albeit Joseph Parker, yes, but just being cheap. Don’t turn up like the marshmallow man. Disrespectful to the sport. It’s just, it’s ridiculous.
Q: What now for Hamzah Sheeraz? He got away with one against Carlos Adames. Would you like to see a rematch or will Hamza move on?
Tony Bellew: I don’t think he won, but ultimately I just think he’s got to focus on boxing. He’s got to focus on boxing. I think he’s a really good fighter. I don’t want to see him struggling to make weight. Because he has all the ability. Hamza Sheeraz will be a world champion. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. I just think a big part of it now for him is managing his team, his camp, because his camp is growing. His team is growing. He’s got a huge camp. From me looking from the outside in, 40 percent of that’s not needed. Trim it down, go back to basics. Know what you’re good at, know what needs to be done. Camp for someone like Hamza Shehnaz, who’s a contender, shouldn’t be a big deal. It shouldn’t be hard. When I was a contender and when I was a champion, my camp was the same size. Keep it small, keep it what it needs to do. Everyone’s got a job, they know what they need to do. But ultimately, make no mistake, it’s about you. You’re the one who gets in the ring. You’re the one who takes the punches. And you’re the one who takes the risks. He’s got to put himself first in camp.
He’s an international ambassador for Riyadh season. I don’t know if that’s any of a distraction. He’s a good one too. They obviously want him to do well. We saw Turki at ringside telling Sheeraz he’s behind the cards,
Tony Bellew: You’ve got to understand that Turki is behind all of what’s going on with Riyadh season, he’s fully invested in his fighter. So Turki basically is a promoter and he’s urging for his man to win. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s like saying when Eddie Hearn is on a Matchroom show when AJ’s fighting, it’s a Matchroom show and he wants AJ to win. He’s jumping around when AJ knocks out his opponent. His Excellency, the Sheik, is entitled to support whoever he wants to support. Do you believe when Canelo has this next fight, he’s not going to be cheering for Canelo to win. He’s paying Canelo hundreds of millions of pounds, and he’s paying hundreds of millions of pounds because he wants to see the biggest fight and the best fight, so he wins. As for Hamza, he’ll be back. I think he’s a really good fighter. I think he needs a leader with him in the team. I think he needs someone to speak to him and a leader amongst the team because at the moment I feel he’s doing too much himself. Right. Are you putting your name forward, Tony? No, no definitely not. I just, I just think, I just think the kid needs a little bit more experience and guidance around him. I think he’s got a really good team, as in advisors, as in managers. He has one of the best managers in the game in Spencer Brown. But you have to allow Spencer to manage. And that’s the hardest thing. These fighters want to micromanage. Just focus on you, focus on fighting.
Q: OK last question about this all-female boxing card “Unstoppable” that will take place on March 7, 2025 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Lauren Price vs Natasha Jonas is the headline fight, which way do you see it going?
Tony Bellew: That’s a very hard fight for our Tash. I didn’t like the fight when it was first made, but I’ll always back Tash. From the outside looking in, Ben Shalom is looking out his assets, and he’s looking for the passing of the guard fight. A passing of the baton. That’s what it looks like on paper and that’s what he’s made this fight for. For someone like Natasha Jonas, she’s earned her stripes. She’s a multiple world champion, she’s a unified champion. It’s like a similar situation now to what Canelo found himself in with Benavidez. So the only difference is, there wasn’t an amount of money that could say f**k you money. It’s like Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. It’s these kinds of situations and scenarios where you go, is it worth it? Jon Jones goes I don’t really like that fight, I don’t really want it. Canelo goes, I don’t like that fight, I don’t really want it. But if you pay me enough, f**k it, I’ll do it. It’s f**k you money. And, I think, I think that’s what Tash has been given. So you just wouldn’t turn it down for the money? You just don’t turn it down. Don’t get me wrong. Canelo goes in the ring better, he knows, he thinks he’s going to win.
And Jon Jones goes in the ring, he thinks he’s going to beat Tom Aspinall, he agrees it’s a really hard fight. This is his Nemesis of the division but they face them because I’m getting paid mega money. It’s gone on for years and years in boxing. It’s just that it gets these mega fights. It’s like when Floyd Mayweather didn’t fight Antonio Margarito. He thought I don’t need that, I don’t like that fight. So you know what, I’ll just face Shane Mosely instead. Your manager’s got to be looking out for you. Tasha will be getting big, big money. Deservedly so. She’s earned the right she’s earned that by 100%. I hope she can get it done. But it will be a hard night’s work because Lauren Price is the younger fighter, similar to Tasha has that pedigree from the amateurs. It’s a really hard one. It’ll be good to watch on the night, but I’m just hoping Tash can use her experience to get round the ring and kind of use it against her. Take it, take it the distance and get on points. Hopefully that’s what I’m hoping for with Tash. Out of the two of them Tasha’s the puncher. So make no mistake about that. But at the same time all the momentum and all the pace goes with Lauren Price.
