Tony Bellew
Encyclopedia
Tony Bellew is a British
professional boxer and a former three time ABA Heavyweight Champion. He is promoted by Frank Warren
, trains out of Arnie's gym in Manchester
and is the reigning Commonwealth
light heavyweight
champion.
’s Rotunda ABC, Bellew claimed the both the 2002 and 2003 novice ABA
title’s by knocking out every man he faced with the exception of Rob Hough who went the whole 3 rounds from Paramount ABC (Stockport) in the under 10 bouts championships. Then, when he was eligible for the Senior championships, he stepped up to the 91 kg heavyweight class and added even more titles to his collection. In 2006 he lost to Danny Price
.
The 27-year-old, a three-time ABA heavyweight champion, is hoping to emulate the feats of his home city's most famous fighter, John Conteh. Like Bellew, Conteh was an ABA champ, before winning British, Commonwealth, European and WBC titles at 175 pounds. And Conteh has even backed Bellew to match his achievements, revealing that he will be keeping a close eye on his career. "John is a big hero of mine, one of the best fighters to have come out of the UK, if not the best, and I'd love to go on and achieve what he did," said Bellew. "To be talked about in the same breath as him is pretty amazing. I've met him a few times and he's a great guy, although I'm not sure he knew who I was! Once I start winning titles, hopefully that will all change."
Bellew, who fought out of the world famous Rotunda ABC as an amateur, did not start boxing until he was 17.
Of 47 amateur fights, he won 40, 32 inside the distance, and earned the nickname "The Bomber" because of his punching power. And he is hoping that power will transfer to the professional ranks. "It's going to be tough getting down to light-heavyweight having always fought as a heavyweight, but it's even worse news for my opponents," said Bellew. "There will be a few guys with a high ranking who are going to get knocked out. "The light-heavyweight division in the UK is not as talented as others, so I can definitely make an impact. Bellew, trained by former WBU middleweight champion Anthony Farnell, isn't all about brawn though - he trained as an accountant while an amateur, although he now plans to put his career in finance on hold. "I'm not your average boxer," he said. "I've already got plans for where I'm going to invest my money, and my financial background will come in handy when it comes to making investment decisions. "I want to provide a good future for my sons Corey and Cobey, and as you don't earn money for overtime in this sport the plan at the moment is to get in and out of the ring as quickly as possible to maximise my earning potential."
Amateur Record : 40-7.
Jamie Ambler and made a winning start with a second round win. He followed up the victory with further wins in 2007 over Adam Wilcox, fighting at the Millennium Stadium
in Cardiff and Wayne Brooks at the Bolton Arena
.
In 2008 Bellew defeated Paul Bonson, Ayitey Powers, Hastings Rasani, Jevgenijs Andrejevs and Phil Goodwin to take his record up to 8-0. During 2009 he advanced to an unbeaten 12-0 with further wins against the likes of Matthew Ellis, Nick Okoth, Jindrich Velecky and Martial Bella Oleme.
title at light heavyweight
beating Atoli Moore at the Echo Arena in Liverpool
. He made his first defence of the title on 24 September 2010 winning a hard fought victory against Bob Ajisafe at the Grosvenor House Hotel
in London's Mayfair
with Bellew having to recover from a flash knockdown during the fight. He made his second defence of the title on 9 December 2010, returning to the Echo Arena to stop former Commonwealth champion Ovill McKenzie
in the 8th round despite suffering two knockdowns himself in the fight in both the 1st and 2nd rounds. On 18 May 2011 it was announced that Bellew would challenge Nathan Cleverly
for the WBO light heavyweight title following a pullout from Cleverly's scheduled opponent Jurgen Braehmer with the fight due to be held only three days later on the 21 May 2011. Bellew however, failed to make the weight and was replaced with Polish boxer Aleksy Kuziemski
. On 16 July 2011 Bellew made the third defence of his Commonwealth title and also won the vacant British belt with a repeat victory over Ovill McKenzie
, with the bout this time lasting the full 12 rounds.
in Liverpool
, on October 15, 2011, for the WBO light heavyweight
title. For the first two rounds, the fight started at a ferocious pace, with Bellew rocking Cleverly in the second round. As the fight carried on, Cleverly's boxing skills came through to wear down the resistance of Tony Bellew. Cleverly won the fight via majority decision. One judge scored the bout at 114-114 whereas the other two judges scored the bout at 117-112 and 116-113, respectively. Because of Bernard Hopkins
bizarre TKO loss to Chad Dawson
, there are calls of a rematch between Bellew and Cleverly.
|-
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponnent
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Loss||16-1-0||align=left|
Nathan Cleverly
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||16-0-0||align=left| Ovill McKenzie
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||15-0-0||align=left| Ovill McKenzie
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||14-0-0||align=left| Bob Ajisafe
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||13-0-0||align=left|
Atoli Moore
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||12-0-0||align=left|
Martial Bella Oleme
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||11-0-0||align=left|
Jindrich Velecky
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||10-0-0||align=left| Nick Okoth
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||9-0-0||align=left| Mathew Ellis
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||8-0-0||align=left| Phil Goodwin
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||7-0-0||align=left|
Jevgenijs Andrejevs
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||6-0-0||align=left|
Hastings Rasani
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||5-0-0||align=left| Ayitey Powers
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||4-0-0||align=left| Paul Bonson
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||3-0-0||align=left| Wayne Brooks
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||2-0-0||align=left| Adam Wilcox
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||1-0-0||align=left| Jamie Ambler
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
pitch at half-time during a game. He enters the ring to the theme from Z Cars, the same song that the players enter the pitch to during matches at Everton's home ground (Goodison Park
).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
professional boxer and a former three time ABA Heavyweight Champion. He is promoted by Frank Warren
Frank Warren
Frank Warren may refer to:* Frank Warren , played for the New Orleans Saints* Frank Warren , English boxing manager and promoter* Francis E. Warren , American politician, U.S...
, trains out of Arnie's gym in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and is the reigning Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
champion.
Amateur career
Fighting out of LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
’s Rotunda ABC, Bellew claimed the both the 2002 and 2003 novice ABA
Amateur Boxing Association of England
The Amateur Boxing Association of England is the governing body of amateur boxing clubs in England. There are separate organisations for Scotland and Wales with boxing in Northern Ireland being organised on an All-Ireland basis. The Association was founded in 1880...
title’s by knocking out every man he faced with the exception of Rob Hough who went the whole 3 rounds from Paramount ABC (Stockport) in the under 10 bouts championships. Then, when he was eligible for the Senior championships, he stepped up to the 91 kg heavyweight class and added even more titles to his collection. In 2006 he lost to Danny Price
Danny Price (boxer)
Daniel Anthony Price is a British amateur boxer, best known to win the national title in 2006 at 201 lbs/91 kg.-Career:The 1.98m/6'6 tall Price fights for Scarborough club Westway ABC...
.
The 27-year-old, a three-time ABA heavyweight champion, is hoping to emulate the feats of his home city's most famous fighter, John Conteh. Like Bellew, Conteh was an ABA champ, before winning British, Commonwealth, European and WBC titles at 175 pounds. And Conteh has even backed Bellew to match his achievements, revealing that he will be keeping a close eye on his career. "John is a big hero of mine, one of the best fighters to have come out of the UK, if not the best, and I'd love to go on and achieve what he did," said Bellew. "To be talked about in the same breath as him is pretty amazing. I've met him a few times and he's a great guy, although I'm not sure he knew who I was! Once I start winning titles, hopefully that will all change."
Bellew, who fought out of the world famous Rotunda ABC as an amateur, did not start boxing until he was 17.
Of 47 amateur fights, he won 40, 32 inside the distance, and earned the nickname "The Bomber" because of his punching power. And he is hoping that power will transfer to the professional ranks. "It's going to be tough getting down to light-heavyweight having always fought as a heavyweight, but it's even worse news for my opponents," said Bellew. "There will be a few guys with a high ranking who are going to get knocked out. "The light-heavyweight division in the UK is not as talented as others, so I can definitely make an impact. Bellew, trained by former WBU middleweight champion Anthony Farnell, isn't all about brawn though - he trained as an accountant while an amateur, although he now plans to put his career in finance on hold. "I'm not your average boxer," he said. "I've already got plans for where I'm going to invest my money, and my financial background will come in handy when it comes to making investment decisions. "I want to provide a good future for my sons Corey and Cobey, and as you don't earn money for overtime in this sport the plan at the moment is to get in and out of the ring as quickly as possible to maximise my earning potential."
Amateur Record : 40-7.
Professional career
Bellew made his professional boxing debut on 6 October 2007 against journeymanJourneyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
Jamie Ambler and made a winning start with a second round win. He followed up the victory with further wins in 2007 over Adam Wilcox, fighting at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in Cardiff and Wayne Brooks at the Bolton Arena
Bolton Arena
The Bolton Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena, located at Middlebrook on the boundary between Horwich and Lostock in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England....
.
In 2008 Bellew defeated Paul Bonson, Ayitey Powers, Hastings Rasani, Jevgenijs Andrejevs and Phil Goodwin to take his record up to 8-0. During 2009 he advanced to an unbeaten 12-0 with further wins against the likes of Matthew Ellis, Nick Okoth, Jindrich Velecky and Martial Bella Oleme.
Commonwealth Champion
On 12 March 2010 Bellew challenged for the vacant CommonwealthCommonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
title at light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
beating Atoli Moore at the Echo Arena in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. He made his first defence of the title on 24 September 2010 winning a hard fought victory against Bob Ajisafe at the Grosvenor House Hotel
Grosvenor House Hotel
Grosvenor House is a large and luxurious hotel. The iconic Mayfair, London hotel is owned by the Sahara Group. The name has also been licensed to a property in Dubai....
in London's Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
with Bellew having to recover from a flash knockdown during the fight. He made his second defence of the title on 9 December 2010, returning to the Echo Arena to stop former Commonwealth champion Ovill McKenzie
Ovill McKenzie
Ovill McKenzie is a Jamaican professional boxer fighting out of Derby in England; he competes primarily in the light heavyweight division but has also fought at cruiserweight...
in the 8th round despite suffering two knockdowns himself in the fight in both the 1st and 2nd rounds. On 18 May 2011 it was announced that Bellew would challenge Nathan Cleverly
Nathan Cleverly
Nathan Cleverly is a British professional boxer from Wales and current WBO light heavyweight world champion. He is also the former European, British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion...
for the WBO light heavyweight title following a pullout from Cleverly's scheduled opponent Jurgen Braehmer with the fight due to be held only three days later on the 21 May 2011. Bellew however, failed to make the weight and was replaced with Polish boxer Aleksy Kuziemski
Aleksy Kuziemski
Aleksy Kuziemski is a boxer from Poland.-Amateur:Kuziemski won the bronze medal at light heavy at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships, and another bronze at the 2004 European Amateur Boxing Championships.He participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics...
. On 16 July 2011 Bellew made the third defence of his Commonwealth title and also won the vacant British belt with a repeat victory over Ovill McKenzie
Ovill McKenzie
Ovill McKenzie is a Jamaican professional boxer fighting out of Derby in England; he competes primarily in the light heavyweight division but has also fought at cruiserweight...
, with the bout this time lasting the full 12 rounds.
World Title Challenge
It has been announced that Bellew will fight, against Nathan CleverlyNathan Cleverly
Nathan Cleverly is a British professional boxer from Wales and current WBO light heavyweight world champion. He is also the former European, British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, on October 15, 2011, for the WBO light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
title. For the first two rounds, the fight started at a ferocious pace, with Bellew rocking Cleverly in the second round. As the fight carried on, Cleverly's boxing skills came through to wear down the resistance of Tony Bellew. Cleverly won the fight via majority decision. One judge scored the bout at 114-114 whereas the other two judges scored the bout at 117-112 and 116-113, respectively. Because of Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as The Executioner is an American boxer and the current Ring Magazine and WBC light heavyweight champion...
bizarre TKO loss to Chad Dawson
Chad Dawson
"Bad" Chad Dawson is an American boxer from Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, and the former WBC & IBF light heavyweight champion. Dawson is rated by The Ring Magazine as the number four Light Heavyweight boxer in the world.-Early life:...
, there are calls of a rematch between Bellew and Cleverly.
Professional boxing record
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|16 Wins (10 knockouts), 1 Losses 0 Draws|-
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponnent
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Loss||16-1-0||align=left|
Nathan CleverlyNathan Cleverly
Nathan Cleverly is a British professional boxer from Wales and current WBO light heavyweight world champion. He is also the former European, British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion...
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||16-0-0||align=left|
Ovill McKenzieOvill McKenzie
Ovill McKenzie is a Jamaican professional boxer fighting out of Derby in England; he competes primarily in the light heavyweight division but has also fought at cruiserweight...
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||15-0-0||align=left|
Ovill McKenzieOvill McKenzie
Ovill McKenzie is a Jamaican professional boxer fighting out of Derby in England; he competes primarily in the light heavyweight division but has also fought at cruiserweight...
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||14-0-0||align=left|
Bob Ajisafe|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||13-0-0||align=left|
Atoli Moore|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||12-0-0||align=left|
Martial Bella Oleme|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||11-0-0||align=left|
Jindrich Velecky|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||10-0-0||align=left|
Nick Okoth|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||9-0-0||align=left|
Mathew Ellis|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||8-0-0||align=left|
Phil Goodwin|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||7-0-0||align=left|
Jevgenijs Andrejevs|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||6-0-0||align=left|
Hastings RasaniHastings Rasani
Hastings Rasani is a Zimbabwean light heavyweight boxer based in Birmingham, England. He is a journeyman fighter who once held the Zimbabwean national title...
|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||5-0-0||align=left|
Ayitey Powers|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||4-0-0||align=left|
Paul Bonson|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||3-0-0||align=left|
Wayne Brooks|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||2-0-0||align=left|
Adam Wilcox|
|
|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||1-0-0||align=left|
Jamie Ambler|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
Personal life
Bellew is an avid supporter of Everton Football Club, and has been paraded on the Goodison ParkGoodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
pitch at half-time during a game. He enters the ring to the theme from Z Cars, the same song that the players enter the pitch to during matches at Everton's home ground (Goodison Park
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...
).