Tony Bellew Interview: Fury Will Not Make Same Mistakes This Time In Usyk Rematch
In an exclusive interview with Spaceport Sweden, Tony ‘Bomber’ Bellew gave his preview of the upcoming rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk and everything else currently making news in the world of fighting.
Full Transcript
See the full transcript below where Bellew speaks on all things Boxing and much more…
On Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2
Q: We’ve got a proper boxing match on the agenda and on the horizon, getting closer and closer. I don’t know if you saw the preview trailer. Usyk and Fury yesterday. It was brilliant choreography and everything.
Tony Bellew: ”Unbelievable. It’s quite simply the greatest trailer of all time in boxing. I’ve never seen anything like it. If you haven’t seen it, go and check it out. It’s unbelievable. His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh has done it again. He just keeps trumping these. I dread when one doesn’t match up to the last one.
”I just think it’s unbelievable. Listen, what he’s doing, he’s reinventing the wheel in the game itself. And that video was just amazing, I’ve probably watched it all 10 times already. I just thought the details that go into it. The directors and the thought process and everything around it. And then listen, they’ve obviously both got really bright acting futures. Two of them as well, because they do really well. So good luck to them both. May the best man win.”
Q: Fury’s been saying that he clowned around too much before the first fight, so that sounds like he’s going to be strictly business this time around. Do you think that’ll make a difference? His mindset focused and he had the tragedy the first time around with his sadly unborn son or daughter. So this time around maybe he’s more laser focused than he was the first time around.
Tony Bellew: ”Well, you’d hope so. I’d say the tragedy came literally so close to the fact that he didn’t know. But what he’s gone through in his personal life is just, I can’t even bear to think and comprehend. Thoughts and wishes are with him and his family, but may the best man win on the night. I’ve said before, I’ll say it again. I just think I can’t see past Oleksandr Usyk. I just think the guy’s an absolute machine. Don’t get me wrong, at Tyson Fury’s size and weight, he shouldn’t lose, if I’m being totally honest. When you have advantages like that, you shouldn’t lose. But, if anyone’s gonna beat him, it’s obviously gonna be Oleksandr Usyk.”
Q: I’d presume we see different referees this time around. Fury got a little bit fortunate, some might say with the last one.
Tony Bellew: ”Fortunate’s an understatement. I mean he literally saved his bacon in that round. He saved his backside, he really did. So as I said, it is what it is, really. We’ll find out, we’ll get all the answers on December the 21st. Is Oleksandr Usyk going to cap off an unbelievably good career and walk into the sunset, into the sunrise? Or is he going to finally falter and lose that unbeaten streak?”
Q: Big John Fury, his cameo in the preview was quite something. But we saw him at the Tommy Fury, Darren Till press conference. We haven’t seen a lot of him. In the actual Fury vs Usyk build up, have we?
Tony Bellew: ”I think the kids have just let themselves do the talking. And so they should. No one wants their father stepping up on a stage and taking over things to be totally honest. I mean, I wouldn’t. I kept my father right by my side my whole career, but never once did he speak up. And I think that was the right place for him to be. I think it’s a little bit different with Tommy Fury, because he’s training Tommy Fury and he’s Tommy’s trainer. I get it with Tommy, but with Tyson, you’re his dad. You’re not his coach. You’re not his mentor. You’re his dad. But listen, he’s obviously a good father. He’s done a good job with his kids. I just think his behavior’s completely inappropriate at times. And some of the things he says, I just think, wow. But he’s old school and he’s one of them. But it is what it is. Like I said before, you wish them all luck and hope for the best for everyone.”
On Anthony Joshua’s Future
Q: Will Anthony Joshua be hoping Tyson Fury can beat Oleksandr Usyk as he has a better chance of beating Fury?
Tony Bellew: ”I think the last thing on Anthony Joshua’s mind right now is one of those two. I think his goal and his focus will be on Daniel Dubois, but at the same time he’ll just be thinking to himself, ‘I’ll watch it, I’ll enjoy the fight. I’m a spectator.’ But I’m sure he’ll have Daniel Dubois on his mind at some stage. Eddie Hearn has said AJ won’t be fighting until May or June next year now and a Dubois rematch is still on the cards. Have you heard anything from AJ or from Eddie specifically? Or is that just what’s floating around out there? No, I think that’s just what’s floating around and it is what it is really. He’ll make the decision when he sees fit. You have to understand that when you’re in a position like AJ is with his power, then you dictate what you want and when you want it. So if he wants a six month break, he’s gonna take it. And no one can tell him he can’t. He had such a busy year. I think over 14 or 15 months, it was a 4-5 fight period. It’s unreal how active he was. He’s just been very unfortunate to stumble across a Daniel Dubois that wouldn’t be stopped. He turned up with a game plan and it backfired badly. He basically turned up to a gunfight with a knife and he just wasn’t able to get his shots off as early as anticipated. But I wouldn’t doubt that he’ll be back for a single second. As long as he’s still got the hunger and the desire, he’ll be back. Eddie Hearn said, ‘win or lose, we can fight Fury next summer. If Fury wins, AJ will fight him for the world title, making it the biggest fight in boxing. It would be frustrating to commit to a Dubois rematch and miss out on Fury.’ It’s a smart move to sit and wait. Just let it all unfold in front of you and then all he has to do is make a decision in January. Enjoy Christmas, enjoy your New Year. Enjoy your time.”
On General Boxing Including Chris Billiam-Smith and Sunny Edwards
Q: Do you think Matchroom signing Patrick Brown is a good signing?
Tony Bellew: ”He looks like a talent. He looks like a big, big talent. There’s a lot of noise in and around the GB squad about him. How good he can be, what he’s going to do. And he’s a big old lump. I met him for the first time on Saturday. He’s a big boy. Still quite young, isn’t he? 25? In that division, yes. When you’re starting off in the cruiserweight division, as a cruiserweight or a heavyweight, you have to make weight. And he’s a big old boy. So yeah, at that age he’s not going to hit his peak for at least another six or seven years. It’ll be interesting to see how he goes. He’ll soon understand that a professional game is a completely different game to amateur boxing. It’s like rugby and football, both are played with a ball but they’re completely different.”
Q: Last time we spoke was just before Chris Billam-Smith’s fight, it didn’t go to plan did it?
Tony Bellew: ”I picked Zurdo. Gilberto Ramirez is someone that’s very awkward. He does things that cruiserweights don’t usually do. Boxes really well on the back foot, on the front foot. Handspeed’s decent, combination punching. And Chris Billam-Smith just couldn’t adapt. Don’t get me wrong, he didn’t get beat up. He didn’t lose by a landslide and didn’t get smashed. But he lost most of the rounds, it was clear to see that. Gilberto Ramirez was on a different level. Chris Billam-Smith is a really good fighter, he’s coming into some of the best parts of his career. I think the wins over Richard Riakporhet and Lawrence Okolie are standout wins. I think Shane McGuigan did a great job with formulating game plans in those fights but it just didn’t work against Ramirez.”
Q: Sunny Edwards has quit boxing after being stopped by Galal Yafai. At the end of round 2 he said he didn’t want to be in there. If you were in his corner would you have thrown the towel in?
Tony Bellew: ”I don’t think I’m qualified to say what I would do there because I’m not a coach and I’ve never been a coach. I can only speak from how I’d have felt if I was his manager, I’d have flipped and gone nuts. You might feel like that before the fight and then the fight kicks off and all of a sudden you feel great. I’ve gone into fights feeling like that and then, I’ve just thought, ‘bite down on the gumshield, get on with it.’ That pair are two of the best fighters in the world at their weight class and I think he (Edwards) feels like they weren’t getting shown enough respect. But it is what it is, there’s a ladder. You adapt and you do as you’re told. When a promoter’s saying, ‘listen, we’re going to be pushing this back or that back because there’s a heavyweight thing going on,’ then you’ve just got to take it on board and get on with it.
”But as for Edwards on the night, people can not detract anything from Galal Yafai. He was unbelievable. He was relentless. He was non-stop. He went in there and he just did a thorough job on Sunny. I don’t think any version of Sunny Edwards would beat Galal Yafai. I made a statement on the TV and I said to him, his lifestyle’s caught up with him. Sunny’s very out there with his lifestyle. He doesn’t hide anything. He shows you it all. It’s all there for you to see. When you’re facing someone like Galal Yafai, a young man who lives the sport, he’s a hungry fighter. He comes from a family of fighters as does Sunny Edwards. But like I said before, Galal lives it. It’s been his whole entire life. There is no partying for Galal Yafai. There are no extracurricular activities away from boxing. There is no smoking and stuff like that.
”I’m not saying anything that people don’t know, Sunny said he’s been smoking since he was a kid. When you’re being asked questions by Galal Yafai, you’re being asked of your mental fortitude, your durability, your fitness levels. When your opponents draw upon those things you’ve got to be in the best shape, physically, mentally and in every way possible and he wasn’t. Galal was, that was the difference. He couldn’t stop him. He had no momentum in the fight. He just basically got beat up and I don’t want to hear ‘oh, well, it’s because he didn’t take it seriously.’ He did take it seriously. He did the best he could in his camp and he worked hard. It’s just one of those things. Styles make fights. And your style’s not going to beat his.”
Q: Do you think Galal deserves a shot at Jesse Rodriguez off the back of that fight?
Tony Bellew: ”I think right now, that’s another level up. I think let’s win a world title first. Let’s beat one of the other champions. Has Bam moved up in weight now? I think he might have moved up. I’m sick of fighters jumping up for the sake of it. You see Noaya Inoue, how far is he gonna go up? How far are they asking Bam now to go up? What is wrong with just completely wiping out and ruling a weight class like Gennady Golovkin did? Just dominate at the weight. No one ever complained about Marvelous Marvin Hagler at middleweight. I remember speaking to Vasily Lomachenko many years ago and saying that the only person that’s going to beat you is you, and the only reason you’re going to lose is because of size, and he just kept going up and up and up. I’ve always thought the same about Usyk. No one’s going to outbox Oleksandr Usyk, no one’s going to outbox Vasiliy Lomachenko. It’s just size. These guys are so big, a good big guy will beat a great little guy. I’m sick of seeing so many fighters jump up in weight classes. It’s dangerous as well from a boxing point of view. Weight classes exist for a reason.”
Q: Hamzah Sheeraz, is it a good match-up for him against Carlos Adames?
Tony Bellew: ”Great fight, really good matchmaking. Hamzah has every trick in the book. He’s got it all. I just think now he’s just lacking that little bit of championship experience. That fight against Austin Williams will stand him in really good stead. Got wobbled, didn’t he, a bit early on? He got nailed, he got caught, but I just think it’ll stand him in such good stead now, going into these title fights. He’s someone who I’m really excited about. Super bright future. And the only way is up for Hamzah Sheeraz in my opinion. I said, once you’ve got the belt, let’s maintain, let’s make the right defense at the right time. Stay busy, stay active. His frame is going to allow him to grow through the weight divisions. But at the same time, you’re young, there is no rush.”
Q: Derek Chisora wants his 50th pro fight to be against Francis Ngannou in Africa. What’s your verdict?
Tony Bellew: ”He’s already fighting Otto Wallin first, that’s two fights lined up for Derek. He’s always busy and it’ll be a hard fight against Otto Wallin because he’s going to have to put it on him early and land something of significance. Otto Wallin is a problem as we’ve seen in the Tyson Fury fight. AJ made light work of him, yes, but AJ is a completely different competitor to Derek Chisora. Derek’s the kind of fighter who wears you out, but he takes so much punishment while wearing you out. He’s a late knockout specialist. And against Otto Wallin he’s going to have to start quickly and he’s going to have to draw him into a war, because if he allows Wallin to box at his own pace, at his own rate, he’s going to lose on points. And then maybe Ngannou down the line. If he wins that in Africa. It’s crazy. It will be nuts. It will be absolutely crazy. Francis Ngannou is a big, big guy, a big, dangerous fighter. And, uh, yeah, he’s someone I wouldn’t like to have a roll around with in the street. I mean, I’ll happily take him in a boxing ring, but I wouldn’t be going anywhere near him in the street. He is literally Thanos.”
Q: Chris Eubank Senior was recently asked for his current pound for pound best boxer in the world. I think you might be surprised at his answer. The Mexican monster, David Benavidez.
Tony Bellew: ”There’s a very good fighter. Very, very, very good fighter. Fast hands. Strong puncher. Good work rate. Not your typical standout Mexican, but you know, he does so many good things. He can be slick when he needs to be. Got decent defense. He’s a really good fighter. I don’t think he’s the best fighter in the whole world. He’s up there. There’s a case to be made for him. He’s up there, but we’ve all got to be totally honest. I mean, who’s to stand out there? When you talk about pound for pound the best fighters in the world, it’s who they’ve actually beaten. When you start beating fellow pound for pound fighters, if he’s to go in there and blast Canelo he’s got every reason to shout it, but until he gets rid of a fellow pound for pound fighter, it’s hard to put him up there with the likes of Usyk.”
Q: How do you think Frank Bruno would have fared in this current era? You think he would have troubled AJ and Dubois?
Tony Bellew: ”Frank was such a big puncher but also vulnerable, as most big punchers are. Defensively not the best, but as boxing evolves and time moves on, they’re just far better athletes now. Frank was an amazing athlete, by the way. He was in great shape, always. But these guys are now something else when it comes to actual specimens and athletes. Technically, I don’t think they’re as good as Lennox Lewis, who for me, was brilliant.
”I haven’t seen a better technically gifted athlete than Lennox Lewis in his prime. Obviously, Muhammad Ali was a different kind of technique and talent. His footwork was unbelievable, the greatest footwork of any heavyweight ever. George Foreman, for me, is the biggest puncher ever. Once again, down to his pure, raw technique. But Lennox Lewis, as a fighting specimen, as a technician, the pugilist specialist, he was fantastic. And as for Big Frank, strong, strong, powerful, vulnerable. The same things can be said of Daniel Dubois. I think the same things can be said of Anthony Joshua. Strong and powerful. Weak points. Achilles heels. Yeah. Every fighter has them. You know, I think Lennox at times was hesitant. I wouldn’t call him gun shy, far from it. But I think without the late great Emmanuel Stewart, he wouldn’t have been the fighter he was. I think that helped define him and every lion needs a lion tamer, shall we say? Yeah, point. Lennox had his in the late great Emmanuel.”
Away From Boxing on UFC and Conor McGregor
Q: Deviating away from boxing slightly, Conor McGregor has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Do you think this will have damaged his legacy long term? And do you think we’ll see him back in the ring?
Tony Bellew: ”I think Conor’s 100 percent going to be fighting again. I don’t know at what point or how. I don’t know too much about his ongoings, outside of his life. But it is what it is. And it would be great to see him back in the octagon. I mean, listen, it’s been a long time since he fought. Now we, I just wanna see him fight. That’s what he’s known for. That’s what he’s good at. And his personal life, I have no idea. I don’t understand how, how it works when someone can be labeled what he’s being labeled and not be in jail. Someone’s got questions to answer. He obviously hasn’t been tried and found guilty in the court of law, which is a bit disturbing, that the way the law works. So I don’t know. All that you want is the truth to come out. I don’t want to get into speculation. You want the truth to come out and then the rest will look after itself.”
On Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson
Q: Tony, you’ve been to the other side of the Atlantic since we last spoke I believe.
Tony Bellew: ”Oh yes, I forgot about that. Ruffled a few feathers to say the least. That slipped my mind. Yes, to say the least. I was in and out, done a quick job. They got the reaction they wanted. I have no intention of calling Jake Paul out, I’ve got no intention of fighting him. But, I just wanted to let it be known that if he’s gonna face a grandad, why not go a step further and face a great grandad? Norman of Paddy Power was absolutely flying.”
Q: Yeah, it was great stuff. Brilliant content. Got people talking and the timing was perfect for us as well because it was literally the day after we did our last chat, so it all worked out well. Did you actually get to speak to Jake Paul face to face? Or was he ducking you?
Tony Bellew: ”No, he’s not. I mean, he didn’t say a single word to me. I stood up and said to him what he was doing was wrong. He just went quiet and put his head in his hands. He was a little bit gutted there. Fair play to paddy power, got the speaker in there and the mic in there and other stuff like that. It was some stunt. It really was. I mean at first I thought they were going to struggle getting it done, but they figured a way out. They’re a brilliant group to work with, they were really funny.”
Q: You got a bit of a face to face with some of the Texas finest’s police department. But they said they showed some respect in the end.
Tony Bellew: ”They were really nice, the policeman was a great fella. The security guard being about 6’8 6’9, I was just polite. Just don’t put your hands on me, I’m going exactly where you want me to go. It was only once he’d seen the policeman with the firearm on his waist that he gave me a little shove in the back. So yeah, typical big security fella, big and tough when he’s got the ultimate backup of a man with a firearm. But listen, all is fair in love and war. I done my job and then I was out literally the next morning. So I didn’t stay for the actual fight. I didn’t want to see that. I like to keep my memories of Mike Tyson, the fond, great memories I have when he was beating up the likes of your Michael Spinks, your Trevor Burbick. That’s the real Iron Mike Tyson. That was a 58 year old grandfather. That was just Mike Tyson. And I’ve just spoke about Iron Mike Tyson. That was the real Mike Tyson. That’s just a grandfather we saw the other night. And I’m so happy for him. Wish him well. He’s a hero to everyone in and amongst my age, my bracket, my era. He’s a legend.”
Q: Because he said, ‘I almost died in June, had eight blood transfusions, lost half his blood, 25lbs in hospital. So it’s quite a surprise, really, that the fight still went on considering that I don’t think we knew those details at the time, exactly what he’d been through.
Tony Bellew: ”I think the frightening part is, Jake Paul and his team knew the details. Hence why they wanted to push the fight so much, which is frightening on its own. I have no problem with that kind of platform that they’re doing, as long as you’re fighting people of the same kind of ability and leave the grandfathers alone. I think what KSI’s doing with Misfits is brilliant. It’s guys who are of the same kind of ability, I see a market for it, and they’re exploiting it. Good on them, like I said before, I’ve got to give KSI his dues, I saw a clip the other day, through my social media platforms, and he was like the modern day Vince McMahon.
”The way he was drilling them up, the way he was bulling them up, it was absolutely fantastic, I thought to myself, fair play, good on you lad, he’s doing really well with it, but what Jake Paul is doing, he’s exploiting an old grandfather who’s an icon of my sport, and that’s just not right in any way, shape, or form. I don’t knock you for what you’re doing for women’s boxing, but what you’ve done for Amanda Serrano is really good. But don’t pretend like you’ve reinvented the wheel. You’ve got to remember that Eddie Hearn went and sold out Madison Square Garden with Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano once, so you didn’t reinvent the wheel, you didn’t give the scale a platform out of nowhere to do it. She already had it. She’s a seven weight world champion. She’s an absolute superstar. She’s amazing is Amanda Serrano, as is Katie Taylor. But I think Jake Paul’s kinda making out like he saved her. She didn’t need saving when she was in Madison Square Garden selling it out.”
Q: Speaking of female boxers, Claressa Shields has called out Jake Paul now as well. She reckons she can beat him. Jake Paul’s going down this kind of ultra villain. So, is the next move for him to fight a woman, maybe? You could see it, couldn’t you?
Tony Bellew: ”Potentially. I wouldn’t put anything past him after seeing Mike in the ring. The only thing I’ll give him credit for is, Mike was finished in that last round. And he let him survive. I’ve got to give him, I’ve got to give him his due respect for that. So, as far as that goes, yes, I’ll say fair play, you did let him off the hook there. Fighting a woman, I don’t think he’d do that, but then I can’t put anything past him. He’s a brilliant businessman. He’s very good at what he does. He picks his mark and it works for him. So yeah, good luck to him. Just stay away from the granddads.”
Q: Carl Froch claimed that the match was rigged and they came out and made the statement that rigging a professional boxing match is a federal crime in the United States of America. Do you think it was rigged or scripted? He said he’d heard that there were clauses in the contract that no one could be knocked out.
Tony Bellew: ”I don’t believe that for a single second. Not a chance. I don’t believe it was rigged. I just think Mike was so subdued in the whole build up. In some of the training footage, he looked still pretty lethal, didn’t he? Yeah, it’s great. Anyone can look good for five to ten second bursts and clips on the pads. Like I said, for the first minute and a half of the first round. He was active. He was out. He was lively. And then he shot his boat. But you’ve got to understand. He’s nearly 60 years old. He’s a grandfather. What more do you want? Two good minutes he’s got in him. I’ve got two good minutes in me and I’m 42. Nevermind 58, nearly 60. So yeah I don’t think it was rigged. I don’t think it was rigged at all. I just think the grandfather showed. Time waits for no one. Nearly half his age.”