Tony Bellew reveals the boxer he had talks with for one last fight
Although he has long been retired, Tony Bellew has this week named an opponent who would make him consider a ring return.
Bellew was last out when challenging the soon to be undisputed cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk in 2019. He lost by knockout but had already achieved his dream of becoming world champion by beating South African Ilunga Makubu at Goodison Park, home of his beloved Everton Football Club in 2016.
After that, he defended his WBC cruiserweight belt with a win against BJ Flores then moved up to heavyweight for two pay-per-view battles with David Haye, which he won.
BoxingScene now report that “Bomber” Bellew, who worked with Matchroom for the last few fights of his career, was close to coming out of retirement for a fight with the first ever bridgerweight world champion, Lukasz Rozanski.
“I kind of agreed it, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. It could have happened, but now I’m not too sure.
“I was toying with the idea of coming back for one night, just for him [Rozanski], but it looks like it’s dead in the water.”
The 41-year-old Liverpudlian ended his career on a loss to the best fighter he ever faced, Oleksandr Usyk, in 2018, knocked out in round eight of an undisputed cruiserweight clash in Manchester. That second career defeat ended an impressive 10-fight winning streak and brought the curtains down on his successful career. However, like most competitive athletes, the former world champion wished he could have left the sport on a victory.
“It was just one night and maybe going out on my own terms. That was all it was about.”
The popular sportsman has since appeared on many panel shows, such as ‘A League of Their Own’, and the prime time UK reality show ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here’ last December and remains a popular pundit and boxing commentator with plenty of bold and polarising views.