Wikipedia

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew, billed as He Who Dares was a professional boxing match contested on 10 November 2018, for the undisputed cruiserweight championship.[1]

He Who Dares
Date10 November 2018
VenueManchester Arena, Manchester, UK
Title(s) on the lineWBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, The Ring and TBRB undisputed cruiserweight championship
Tale of the tape
Boxer Ukraine Oleksandr Usyk United Kingdom Tony Bellew
Nickname "The Cat" "Bomber"
Hometown Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
Purse £800,000 £4,000,000
Pre-fight record 15–0 (11 KO) 30–2–1 (20 KO)
Age 31 years, 9 months 35 years, 11 months
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 198+1⁄4 lb (90 kg) 199+1⁄4 lb (90 kg)
Style Southpaw Orthodox
Recognition WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, The Ring and TBRB undisputed
Cruiserweight Champion
The Ring No. 5 ranked pound-for-pound fighter		 WBA
No. 8 Ranked Cruiserweight
Result
Usyk defeated Bellew via 8th round TKO

Background

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Speaking in the aftermath of his second stoppage victory over former heavyweight champion David Haye, former cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew mentioned Andre Ward who his team had brief negotiations with in 2017, Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte as well the winner of the upcoming World Boxing Super Series final between Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev as potential next opponents.

After Usyk defeated Gassiev to win the undisputed cruiserweight championship he called out Bellew, saying "At this time I have heard that Tony Bellew wants to fight the winner of the Muhammad Ali Trophy. I hope he will see me talking.... 'hey Tony Bellew, are you ready?' If he doesn't want to go down [in weight], I will go up [in weight] for him. I will eat more spaghetti for my dinner!" Also after the fight Usyk said: "Olympic [stadium], thanks. People, countrymen and those who supported. Moscow 2018. Bang! Daddy's in the building!".[2][3] Bellew responded via social media that he would accept the fight, however stated the fight would need to take place in 2018 and for the undisputed championship, believing that a fight at heavyweight would not be as appealing as he would not gain much with a win. Bellew also stated it would be his last fight as a professional.[4][5]

By the end of July, it was said the fight would likely take place in November 2018 in London.[6] After positive meetings between Eddie Hearn and K2's Alexander Krassyuk, on 20 August, Boxing Scene reported the fight was likely to take place on 10 November 2018.[7][8] A week later, K2 Promotions confirmed the date of the fight.[9] On 5 September, the WBA ordered Usyk to start negotiating with Denis Lebedev, who was their 'champion in recess' and gave them until the first week of October 2018 to complete negotiations.[10] This was said to be a stumbling block for the potential Usyk vs. Bellew fight. According to Hearn, the fight was likely to be pushed back to 2019. Prior to negotiations, Bellew stated the fight must happen in 2018.[11][12] On 7 September, Usyk signed a multi-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing, which meant he would fight exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.[13]

A week after signing with Matchroom, the Usyk vs. Bellew fight was announced to take place on 10 November at the Manchester Arena.[14][15] Bellew's guaranteed purse for the fight was £4 million.[16]

Speaking in the build up to the bout Bellew said "I feel fantastic. Fat boy is in shape. Usyk is in the deep end. There will be war. He’s a formidable champion, one of the pound-for-pound kings of the world. We’re going to create madness."[17]

The fight

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There was very little action in round one as both boxers showed each other respect. Due to the lack of action, the crowd began to boo towards the end of the round. Round two was similar, however Bellew stepped on the gas and landed some clean shots along with some showboating. Bellew took control in round three, landing two straight right hands. Usyk began using his jab more and after landing an overhand left, Bellew was left slightly shaken. By the end of round four, Bellew was backed up against the ropes and looked to tire. Bellew aimed most of his shots to Usyk's body and by round seven, was missing a lot of shots, mostly due to Usyk's foot movement, and ended the round with a bloodied nose. In round eight, whilst in a neutral corner, Usyk landed a hard left, again buzzing Bellew, forcing him to move away against the ropes. Another left hand wobbled Bellew before Usyk finished him off with another left which dropped Bellew backwards with his head landing on the bottom rope. A brave Bellew tried to get up slowly and beat the count but referee Terry O'Connor stopped the fight. Judges Alejandro Cid and Steve Gray scored the first seven rounds 68–65 and 67–66 respectively in favour of Bellew, while Yury Koptsev had the fight 67–67.[18][19] [20][21]

Aftermath

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Afterwards, Bellew paid tribute to Usyk and announced his retirement from boxing, saying, "I have been doing this for 20 years, and it is over."

Usyk would later state that 2018 was the most difficult year of his career, but most successful. "We need to put goals in front of us and move towards them".[22][23] There was a small concern during Bellew's post-fight interview as many felt he was clearly concussed.[24] According to CompuBox, Usyk landed 112 of his 424 punches thrown (26%) and Bellew landed 61 of his 268 thrown (23%).[25]

After defeating Bellew, Usyk declared his intention to move up to heavyweight and in would turn vacate all four belts.

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[26]

Winner Loser Weight division/title belt(s) disputed Result
  Anthony Crolla   Daud Yordan WBA lightweight final eliminator Unanimous decision
  Ricky Burns   Scott Cardle Lightweight (10 rounds) 3rd round TKO.
  Josh Kelly   Walter Fabian Castillo Welterweight (10 rounds) 1st round TKO.
  David Allen   Ariel Bracamonte Heavyweight (10 rounds) 7th round RTD
  Richard Riakporhe   Sam Hyde vacant WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title 8th round TKO.
  Dmytro Mytrofanov   Gino Kanters Middleweight (4 rounds) Draw
  Alexandre Kartozia   Daniel Robles Heavyweight (4 rounds) Draw

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
  Australia Fox Sports
Latin America Canal Space
  United States DAZN
  United Kingdom Sky Sports
  Ukraine Inter

References

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  1. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk calls out Tony Bellew after beating Murat Gassiev". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Usyk: If Bellew Won't Come Down - I'll Face Him at Heavyweight". BoxingScene.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Hearn: Bellew vs. Usyk in Very Early Talks, We Want The Fight". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Bellew vs Usyk: Tony Bellew says he will have to retire after fighting Oleksandr Usyk". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Tony Bellew eyes November date for Oleksandr Usyk showdown - Boxing News". Boxing News. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Eddie Hearn hopeful Tony Bellew-Oleksandr Usyk fight will be made after positive meeting in Paris". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Usyk vs. Bellew In Play For November 10 in London". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Usyk's Promoter: Bellew Fight on Track For November 10". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  10. ^ "WBA orders Oleksandr Usyk to face Denis Lebedev". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Tony Bellew's fight with Oleksandr Usyk 'unlikely for 2018', says Eddie Hearn". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Usyk vs. Bellew Now Rests on WBA's Order For Lebedev Fight". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk to fight on Sky Sports after signing with Matchroom Boxing". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Usyk vs Bellew: Tony Bellew to face undisputed cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk in Manchester". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Usyk vs. Bellew Finalized - November 10 in Manchester Arena". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  16. ^ McKenna, Chris (10 November 2018). "Bellew vs Usyk: Tony Bellew to pocket mammoth pay day in cruiserweight fight". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  17. ^ Kevin Mitchell (9 November 2018). "Tony Bellew defiant as he prepares for final bow against Oleksandr Usyk". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk Blasts Tony Bellew For Knockout Win in Eight". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Usyk vs Bellew: Tony Bellew falls short in attempt to dethrone cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  20. ^ Alex Bysouth (10 November 2018). "Relive Bellew's loss to undisputed champion Usyk". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  21. ^ Niall McVeigh (11 November 2018). "Oleksandr Usyk beats Tony Bellew to retain world titles – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  22. ^ Luke Reddy (11 November 2018). "Oleksandr Usyk beats Tony Bellew to remain undisputed world cruiserweight champion". bbc.co.uk. Manchester Arena: BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Usyk vs Bellew: Tony Bellew labels victorious Oleksandr Usyk 'the greatest man I have ever shared a ring with'". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  24. ^ "Tony Bellew: Costello and Bunce debate if he should have been interviewed after Usyk defeat". BBC Sport. 12 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  25. ^ "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew - CompuBox Punch Stats". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  26. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by Oleksandr Usyk's bouts
10 November 2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Tony Bellew's bouts
10 November 2018 		Retired
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