Last Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, Tony Bellew caused a huge upset by moving up to the heavyweight class and stopping an injured David Haye in the 11th round in a gripping, all-British fight.
Haye, in the third bout of his boxing comeback, hurt his right Achilles as he skipped back in the sixth round but continued despite being an apparently easy target.
Bellew, the WBC cruiserweight champion, showed patience in picking his moment to finish off Haye and the end came with 53 seconds left of the 11th with a flurry of punches that sent his rival through the ropes. Haye climbed back into the ring, but his corner threw in the towel.
The 36-year-old Haye had his eye on title fights with the likes of IBF champion Anthony Joshua, but that appears doubtful after the former WBA heavyweight champion's third loss in a 31-fight career.
Haye has since had surgery and is expected to be out of the ring for at least six to nine months. He is pushing hard to get a rematch with Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KO).
Bellew is open to the idea of a rematch and believes that he would not only beat Haye for a second time - but get the stoppage even sooner. Given the amount of recovery time needed for Haye, Bellew is likely to fight again. He is attempting to secure a crack at a heavyweight world title.
"[Haye is] still a brilliant fighter. Still very fast, still very powerful. Would I fight him again? Yeah, and I would beat him again as well. I could potentially get him out earlier, because he will show me a lot more respect this time. I won't have to gain and earn his respect, like I did in the first fight. It takes time to do that," Bellew told Sky Sports.