In an exclusive interview with BitcoinCasinos.com, former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew says he has insider knowledge that the next big heavyweight division bout will be Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury.
Bellew also called for the harshest punishment of lifetime boxing bans for drug doping boxers, as the former boxer believes many in the sport are using illegal substances.
Interview highlights:
- Bellew’s heard rumours AJ will fight Fury next, not Wilder
- ‘Vulnerable’ and ‘Tentative’ Joshua not ready for Wilder
- Bellew likens AJ to Lennox Lewis
- Bellew calls for lifetime boxing bans for drug cheats (many boxers are on illegal substances)
Bellew’s heard AJ will fight Fury next, not Wilder
Speculation around a December AJ v Wilder bout is dismissed by Bellew, who has it on good authority that Fury v Joshua is on the cards instead;
Tony Bellew: “I am hearing rumours that {talks between AJ & Wilder’s camps} have stopped at the minute and {AJ’s camp} are looking more towards Fury vs AJ again instead of AJ and Wilder.”
‘Vulnerable’ & ‘Tentative’ Joshua not ready for Wilder
Bellew believes it might be beneficial for Joshua not to face ‘The Bronze Bomber’ yet, as the former cruiserweight champ is too ‘vulnerable’ to face knockout artist Wilder;
Tony Bellew: “Deontay Wilder has got mind numbing power but so has Anthony Joshua, when he throws it. If you force him {Joshua} to throw, which Helenius didn’t do, then it’s a different ball game. I think gunshy is a little bit unfair, tentative is how I’d describe AJ’s performance {against Helenius}.”
“In my view I would just like Josh to get back to what he does best, which is to get on his chest and just throw punches. What happens to fighters is when we lose or get stopped it makes us vulnerable and wary. Sometimes we overthink things and I think that’s the phase he’s going through. He knows that he’s vulnerable and wary.”
Bellew likens AJ to Lennox Lewis
AJ’s brutal breakdown of Robert Helenius on August 12th has shown Bellew enough to label Joshua the next Lennox Lewis;
Tony Bellew: “If you can break someone down systematically and punish them and brutalise them and then finish them off when they’re absolutely at the edge then I’d do that every time. Lennox Lewis was the master of that. If you want to compare him to Lennox, which Joshua absolutely will hate by the way, but when Lennox was first on the scene he was a wrecking machine. He was flying through fighters.
“The setback came with the Oliver McCall fight and then he went to Emmanuel Stewart and he changed his style and started to break fighters down by using his jab to such great effect. He was the greatest coach ever in my opinion but this used to send him insane. It used to infuriate him. When Lennox was in training camp he used to play chess all the time and Emmanuel Steward hated that. But a boxing match is chess. You’ve got to be three, four or five moves ahead.”
Bellew calls for lifetime boxing bans for drug cheats (many are on illegal substances)
Whyte’s failed drug test in the lead up to the Joshua fight has prompted Bellew to call for a lifetime boxing ban on fighters that are doping. Bellew believes from first hand experience that many boxers fighting today are using illegal substances to gain a competitive advantage & getting away with it;
Tony Bellew: “If you fail a drug test for that then it should be a straight lifetime ban in my opinion. For me I can’t understand how these fighters are doing it and getting away with it. It’s disgusting. I blame the governing bodies, I blame the boxing boards. I blame them all.
“I had another friend called Larry Olubamiwu but I don’t speak to him anymore because I don’t like what he was doing. The last time we spoke and he said Tony you don’t understand how many are on it. But I said well that doesn’t excuse you doing it. It’s sad that we don’t speak anymore but that’s how it is.
“People will knock me and say you backed Conor Benn. But I would’ve put my house and my life on him not having taken performance enhancing drugs. I take that stance because I know him. Ultimately it’s come back now that he is innocent. I just think that if you test positive for PEDs you should be banned for life and once you do it to one or two fighters the whole game will change and it will go away. I genuinely believe that.”
