By Keith Idec
Tony Bellew wants to see an Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder fight, but not just yet.
The former cruiserweight champion’s comments in column he wrote for Sky Sports’ website resembled what promoter Eddie Hearn has been saying about Wilder when discussing a potential showdown with Joshua. Bellew wants Wilder to add more recognizable names to his record before heading into a high-profile fight against Joshua that surely would do huge business in the United Kingdom.
England’s Bellew, Joshua’s close friend, also is promoted by Hearn’s company, Matchroom Sport.
“I am a fat cruiserweight with a 1-0 record as a heavyweight, and I have a better name on my resume than Wilder’s entire career, and that is a fact,” Bellew wrote in a column posted Wednesday. “I’m not saying I am better than him, I am not saying I would beat him, but why have I got a better resume than the WBC heavyweight champion of the world?”
Bellew referred to his 11th-round technical knockout of domestic rival David Haye on March 4 at O2 Arena in London. A heavyweight rematch between Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KOs) and Haye (28-3, 26 KOs) is scheduled for December 17 at O2 Arena.
“I gave him credit for taking on Luis Ortiz and it is not his fault [Ortiz failed a test for banned substances], because he seems willing to fight anyone,” Bellew continued. “And I also think he is the most dangerous heavyweight out there – and the biggest danger to Joshua.
“But I don’t want to see him fight AJ yet, though. It has to be built up because they are two big names, and the most explosive heavyweights out there. If it happened next it would be a big event because of Anthony Joshua. But no one knows who Deontay Wilder is.”
England’s Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) drew a capacity crowd in excess of 78,000 to Principality Stadium for his 10th-round stoppage of Cameroon’s Carlos Takam (35-4-1, 27 KOs) last Saturday night in Cardiff, Wales. A much smaller crowd is expected Saturday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, where Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) will defend his WBC title in a rematch against mandatory challenger Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs).
“When you are the WBC heavyweight champion of the world and you have to go to Russia to defend your title against Alexander Povetkin, you know you have a marketability problem,” Bellew wrote. “An American, with the best belt in the world, having to go to Russia? This isn’t ‘Rocky.’ Wilder needs to fight names and he needs to make statements. They need to get the hype going for him, they really do. Ortiz would’ve been a big name, but I’m afraid Bermane Stiverne – who is actually very good – isn’t.”
Wilder’s ill-fated fight against Russia’s Povetkin (32-1, 23 KOs) was scheduled for May 2016 in Moscow because Povetkin’s promoter, Andrey Rabinsky, won a purse bid with a whopping offer of $7.15 million. The WBC canceled their fight on six days’ notice because Povetkin failed a performance-enhancing drug test for a banned substance.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.