Makabu was his ultimate performance, but who did makabu beat? Haye WAS no joke, way back before Bellew fought him. BJ Flores no joke?, who'd he beat? An argument could be made as you mentioned, but a clear punch to side, lower or front of the head makes a clean knock down. Bellew hit Stevenson at the back of the head and kicked Stevenson's right foot. This content is protected
Yeah, but he was also in retreat, after getting tagged in an exchange. Regardless, it wasn't a clear cut knockdown, but he took a little damage and looked slightly buzzed.
I think Usyk is always a feelers out fighter regardless of the opposition, let’s not flatter bellew to much here, the idea that he was weary of bellews power is not something I can see anyone be able to backup, Usyk is supremely confident in his ability and he will never show concern about what his opponent has to offer, he bides his time figuring out how he can get the better of his opponents because he can. And he’s nothing like daft I’d go as far as to say he’s as a cerebral fighter as you are likely to see, so if you can agree with that why would he come to the uk and show disrespect and destroy bellew knowing that he would have to be accepted by the British boxing fans, he knew his route to success in the heavyweights was with the Eddie and gave a respectful schooling to someone not anywhere near his level, Usyk and bellew was a perfect storm for Eddie and matchroom, don’t deceive yourself into believing it was even remotely competitive. It was a perfect goodbye for eddies mate and the perfect introduction for a man with the potential to be a force for matchroom in the heavyweight division.
Bellew had a few moments while Usyk was figuring him out. Otherwise it was Usyk who entirely controlled the flow of the fight then stepped it up and ktfo poor Tony.
I just want to chime in and say that I wish everyone would just leave this poor man alone. He's retired now, and just wants to enjoy life with his family and his mates. He can sure hit. That "bomber" tattoo on his back is of course a reference to his power, and is in no way insensitive to the tragedy which unfolded when Ariana Grande performed in Manchester.
Yep he was doing well before getting ktfo.. Well maybe the first couple of rounds but he was getting beat up for a couple of round before the ktfo incidient. Actaully if you turn the sound off he was just holding his own in the first couple of rounds and did land a couple of times.. Actually when he did land he did't really phase Usyk at all.. Actually he got KTFO....
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Usyk takes hold like a boa constrictor and you may feel like you can wriggle at the start, but it's all part of the plan and doesn't change anything. Bellew is a world class boxer. Clearly he wasnt prime against Usyk but it wouldn't have mattered. He landed a few shots, nothing more than increasing Usyk's ability to read him. Usyk is p4p 1 or 2. Only potential challenges are Loma, Bud (based only off perception, not resume), and Beterbiev.
This. He had a good gameplan and timing. But slowly Usyk figured him out, adapted his approach and broke him down. Plus Bellew being constantly on the counter trigger and Usyk's pressure did a number on Bellews stamina.
Considering how highly Usyk is rated on here, Bellew did very well. It was close in the 1st half of the fight but when Usyk found his rhythm, he was clearly the better fighter.
Usyk had to take some time to suss and feel Bellew out, he'd just knocked out Haye who although shot was still an elite fighter. Took his time and nailed him.
I think it's a disservice to Bellew to just say Usyk was just warming up in those early rounds. You could say that about the first 2 rounds but in the 3rd and 4th rounds Usyk was clearly upping the pace and pressure and yet Bellew was still having plenty of success. Bellew is a better boxer than some give him credit for and of course styles make fights. Bellew from a style perspective is tricky for a southpaw with that right hand counter of his. Usyk likes to get his opponents to react to him, it's why he's constantly popping out the jab, it's not to gauge range, it's not to control distance, it's to illicit a reaction from his opponent and each reaction gives Usyk a piece of the puzzle to figuring out his opponents style. For example against Witherspoon, he figured Chazz would parry with his lead hand and so Usyk then used that using his jab to distract Witherspoon form his rear hand, make him parry and focus on Usyk's jab and then he'd get caught by Usyk's straight left, it was trap Usyk used throughout the fight, making Witherspoon expose himself to the rear hand again and again. Bellew early on gave Usyk very little to read, not reacting much if at all to the pawing jabs so Usyk took longer to figure Bellew out. Bellew instead moved constantly, changing levels and made Usyk lead while he became the counter puncher, opening Usyk up so he could land that right hand. But Usyk right now is one of the most intelligent fighters in the ring, he has so many more gears to move through and is able to adapt in ways many fighters can't when faced with a tricky opponent. He switched things up in round 3, started to press and cut off the ring instead of sit back and wait for Bellew to make mistakes to counter. Once he started to pressure Bellew and make him react not by punching but by just being a constant presence in front of him, he made Bellew start to lead and that's when Usyk started getting into the fight. As the fight wore on Usyk continued to make adjustments, the most obvious was him hooking the left but there were more subtle tweaks. For example at the start of the 7th he started working the body of Bellew. Commentary team said it was to tire Bellew. But what Usyk was doing was making Bellew drop his lead hand to guard his body. Usyk didn't have much success with his jab for much of the fight as Bellew's lead hand often blocked Usyk's jab. But by the last minute of the 7th Usyk started landing the jab over Bellew's now low left hand and of course it was the jab that blinded Bellew to the left hook that KO'ed him a shot he himself said he didn't see coming, because of Usyk's jab.
