Tony Bellew

Anthony Lewis Bellew, born on November 30, 1982, in Liverpool, England, embarked on his professional boxing career in 2007. Bellew’s early life saw him reside in Toxteth and later Wavertree prior to his boxing ascent. He quickly established himself as a formidable presence in the light-heavyweight division, initially securing three consecutive ABA heavyweight titles as an amateur from 2004 to 2006. His professional debut in October 2007 resulted in a 2nd-round TKO victory over Jamie Ambler, setting the stage for an undefeated streak that extended until 2011. Dominating his early career, Bellew accumulated a record of 12-0 by 2009. His professional career highlights include capturing the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title in March 2010 by defeating Atoli Moore at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.

Bellew’s career demonstrated significant progression, marked by both triumphs and challenges. He successfully defended his Commonwealth title twice, against Bob Ajisafe in September 2010 and Ovill McKenzie in December 2010, the latter after overcoming two early knockdowns. In July 2011, he added the vacant British light-heavyweight title to his accolades, again securing a victory over Ovill McKenzie. While a bid for the WBO light-heavyweight title against Nathan Cleverly in October 2011 resulted in a majority decision loss, he later avenged this defeat as a cruiserweight in November 2014. A turning point came in November 2013 when he challenged Adonis Stevenson for the WBC light-heavyweight title, suffering a TKO loss. This prompted his move to cruiserweight, where he gained further success.

His move to cruiserweight proved strategic. In March 2014, Bellew won the vacant WBO International cruiserweight title with a twelfth-round knockout of Valery Brudov. The pinnacle of his career came in May 2016 when he defeated Ilunga Makabu by knockout at Goodison Park, securing the WBC cruiserweight world title. He successfully defended this title against BJ Flores in October 2016. Bellew then transitioned to heavyweight for two high-profile bouts against David Haye, winning both in March 2017 and May 2018. His final professional fight was a return to cruiserweight in November 2018 against Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed cruiserweight world championship, which he lost by KO. Following this, Bellew announced his retirement from boxing with a professional record of 30 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw.