Is Bellew even a top 5 Cruiserweight?

He's pretty smart at cultivating his warrior image. He nearly always self-deprecates first, then talks up his opponent before ending with 'but I will find a way to win' or something similar. It leaves the impression he's a warrior who constantly defies the odds, when in fact, he's much more cautious in his fight style and match making. Uysk is by far the best boxer he has chosen to share the ring with and is a fight in which I expect the myth to unravel.

 

I think Bellew beating Usyk would be a much bigger upset than Fury beating Wlad was.

That said, he clearly deserves to be top 5 at cruiserweight.

 

Yes I'd say he's top 5. I only rate Usyk, Briedis, Gassiev and possibly Dorticos ahead of him

 

Well what makes this bout intriguing to me is that bellew is undefeated as a CW and never lost the WBC portion of the title in the ring. Whether he's ranked top 5 or not, as long as he can .ake the weight healthy as an ox is all that matters to me. It's a big fight and Tony has alot of confidence right now. Usyk will have to earn the victory imo.

 

1:usyk
2:briedis
3:gassiev
4:the French wba champ guy
5: dorticos/bellow - dorticos has power... and bellow been ko by a 175er.. so I think dorticos wins.

then don't forget about guys like tervel pulev,glowacki, huck

 

I’d certainly throw in Lebedev too.
The guy got some nice momentum going at Cruiser weight but had the easiest path in a tough division.

 

at best around 8-12.

 

I had him top 5 just, but looking at the others people are naming in this thread, he probably scrapes top 10 tbh. Huck and Lebedev if they aren't to far gone are favourites. Hes only really relevant Bellew because of the Haye fight exposure, hes a bit of a cash cow and easy pay day for the top Cruisers

 

4th behind Usyk, Gassiev and
Breidis.

That is a fair ranking for Bellend.

 

UK boxing fans aren’t favouring Bellew at all. Usky is 1/8 with the bookies so is a massive favourite

 

I believe he can hang with guys like Wloda, old Lebedev, Perez, Goula, Tabiti and maybe even Dorticos (win some/lose some). Usyk, Gassiev, Glowacki, Breidis and Vlasov all beat him, some quite easily.
That puts him somewhere between 7 and 15 for me.

 

Nope. Usyk, Gassiev, Briedis, Dorticos, Glowacki all beat him, current version of Lebedev would give him hell but would come up short me thinks, I’d pick Durodola to beat him too.

 

The dramatic pause

"they.........never.......give.......me.......a........chance........but........i........always.......shcok.......the......world"

 

Well, he's never beaten a top 5 CW. Masternak and Makubu are solid enough wins to be top 10 but they were some time ago now, so the value of them has diminished somewhat.

Usyk, Gassiev, Briedis and Dorticos are nailed on being ahead of him, I would say. Lebedev, Vlasov and Glowacki have cases too. And then you have guys like Tabiti or Perez who could possibly both beat him (but still have a way to go to make a claim in the rankings), so it's hard to say.