Before saturdays excellent performance I would have said yes, but he looked strong enough at the weight and should have a run at LHW IMO
I thought he looked pretty good, apart from the way he gassed a fair bit later on, which was a bit of a worry. I'd say give it another go or two at LHW, then take it from there.
Ultimately it was his drop in pace, and fitness/conditioning that lost him that fight. He was winning easily at the half way mark..... And then gradually the wheels started to fall off.... Nathan Cleverly fought Tony Bellew flat footed aswell, he gave Bellew the fight he wanted. When i think he could of pulled a Groves and boxed and moved alittle bit more....... I think Bellew needs to move up asap....
I am so glad no one replied to this post!! You knew full well what it meant!! I thought he looked fine on Saturday, took some good shots and didn't once look like going down!!
He tired towards the end, I believe because of the cut. Either he trains all year round to be as fit as Cleverly or he moves up. Either one of these will help him to be the best that he can be.
LHW to cruiser is a big leap, if his struggles are true then maybe he should move up, but I dont see any problems with him at LHW other than maybe conditioning...
Why? People just look too far into it every time he's tired now. Every boxer gets tired, particularly in a fight as intense as this one. Bellew threw a lot of heavy punches early to try and make his mark on the fight, so yeah he was tired but I don't think we should automatically look to making weight as the primary reason. Sometimes the simplest explanation is probably more accurate.
Its too hard and too much of a almighty effort for Tony Bellew to make 175. Why is he doing it to himself..? He needs to fight at a more natural weight, which will be better for his conditioning and overall health. He stated that he was training on a empty stomach and throwing up bile..? This is a ******ed thing to do, what on earth is going on..?
Move up imo. I suppose you can put it down to Clevs mental fitness but Tony couldn't have put in more effort yet he was absolutely ****ed by the 11th. Think he would achieve quite a bit at Cruiser although I suppose you could question how his chin would deal with the extra power..
Here's where Tony Bellew states that he was training on a empty stomach, and throwing up bile. 2min 30sec mark approx, he starts to explain. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyPw38_7tLU[/ame]