Now I have had a think about it, I think it is best if Tony stays with Fank to be honest. He really is the main man in Britain and has the most power. If Tony went with Hearn, Kell Brook is their main man, plus they have a few other top fighters so he may not get the attention he deserves. I suggest he makes up with Fank and sorts out another fight as soon as. Thing about Tony, he is 29. Most fighters are peaking at this age. He really needs to move on and cannot be waiting another 6 months. If he really turned down a fight - as Fank said - not too long ago because of money then he needs to get his head straight. He does not really have much bargaining power. He is not a world champ and not hugely known. If he is concerned about the money then he should be looking to the future and think of the big paydays he can make then, but he can't be expecting huge paydays just yet.
On second thoughs, if Tony really wants the TV exposure then how about Mick Hennessy and channl 5? What do I know lol.
hes a 30 year old man and you expect him to improve, he's gone out of the game in 4 years that i guarantee
Compare his performance against Ajisafe to his fights with Cleverly and McIntosh, he looks a completely different fighter.
The idea that Tony moves up to Cruiserweight and just keeps doing what he is doing is almost laughable. The gap in weight is 25lbs. Tony currently when he fights at 175lbs is allot taller, bigger and stronger than his opponents so he is able to beat them in those departments. Once he move up to Cruiser all of those stentghs will be nutralised and hes naturally smaller than almost all of the elite fighters in that division. The advantges for a fighter when they move up is usually there speed but Tony is not paticuarly faster than any elite cruiser. If Tony was really going to make an impact in the division he would need to take at least a year out from highly competative fights and build his body up to 200lbs but the chances of that happening are almost 0. If you look at his body now he is very lanky. Little muscle on his whole body especially his legs which are skinner that some lightweights. The constant weight drain could also mean his body is perminatley damaged and he will be unable to gain muscle. This is why David Haye to 6 months off between Enzo and Barrett.
From what ive noticed Hearn doesnt work like fisheyes , as in having main men. If Bellew went with Hearn later i think Hearn will give him 100% commitment as he appears to do with his other fighters.
I think that Bellew is making a mistake if he does move on from his current promoter. He is not getting any younger, he's not particularly easy to market in the US compared with some, and whatever his criticisms in his current setup he got a world title shot, a shot at a legitimate belt, which he really did not deserve at the time. Although he acquitted himself well in that fight, it does not mean that overnight promotors all over the world are going to consider him world class - particularly as many fans don't rate Cleverly in the first place. Theirs was a domestic scrap that happened to have a world title attached to it. I like both of them, but they can't be ranked alongside proven champions. For me, Bellew's best shot is to stay at LHW, target the European belt and a better world ranking, and do all of that from within his current promotional setup. He might complain about the limited BoxNation audience, but he doesn't apparently sell out small venues in his home town, so I don't think that TV audience size should be his priority, personally, it should be staying busy and getting high profile fights, both of which agendas would be better served by staying put, imho.
Would take a long time for him to really fill out into a cruiserweight, carrying useful weight. I've heard it's difficult to add more than 1lb of muscle every 4 weeks for anyone who had already been previously training. That about right? As has been said, he'd jump to fighting some guys walking into the ring at 210lbs+, losing many of his advantages. Would take him a long time to get into a shape to be in competitive fights. If he is truly making the weight alright, should stay where he is!
**** me, the lad was a HEAVYWEIGHT at one stage in his career. And i'm sure that it's a big ask to boil down to LHW every time he has to fight.