Tony Bellew Admits: "I Love Knocking People Out!"
By Terence Dooley
Tony Bellew dispatched 16-6 (15) Czech dangerman Jindrich Velecky in a single-round last Friday night. Liverpool’s light-heavyweight hope caught his man with a left hook before hammering home a series of shots and flooring Velecky, who went the distance with WBO super-middleweight title holder Robert Stieglitz in May, with a sweet right uppercut. Velecky beat the count but he made the mistake of glancing over to his corner and, consequently, was caught with a right hand, forcing referee Phil Edwards to end the fight at 1:28 of the round.
Bellew, 26, bellowed his delight after the stoppage came in, shouting the odds before an ecstatic Liverpool crowd. Tony, a three time ABA winner, is passionate about his career, and this sport, and he had expected a tough night’s work in this one. The early stoppage left him with a lot of energy to expend; he joked about his celebrations when I caught up with him on the phone.
“I’ve got the win and that is the main thing but I was just so shocked with the way it ended,” laughed Bellew. “I thought he would go four or five rounds and went a bit crazy, lost it a bit, at the finish. There is nothing better than knocking someone out – I can’t explain it or describe how it feels. If the guy goes down heavily I tone it down and just have a quiet word with myself but if he’s Ok I lose it and celebrate.”
Bellew went the distance the last time he fought in front of his hometown fans, labouring to a distance win over Jevgenijs Andrejevs at Everton Park Sports Centre, Liverpool in 2008. This time, however, Bellew was a man on a mission, and that mission, first and foremost, was to box his way into the fight.
“To be honest, I wasn’t looking for a knockout,” revealed Bellew. “The plan was not to trade with him and not to give him opportunities early. I was going to be patient and work the jab but I saw a few little mistakes and hit him with a shot. I was stunned to see his legs turn to jelly and I went for him. I never let guys off the hook – I’m a good finisher.
“I hit him with a good variety of punches and I was just so shocked, as I keep saying. I thought the gaps would come with the rounds but they came from the start and I hit him with everything. It shows people that I can punch but I also want someone to take my shots so I can show the fans that I can do both things [box and punch] equally well – but I’m not going to complain after a stoppage like that.”
Tony hopes to stay busy; he’s had three fights in 2009 and is now 10-0 (8 early). Bellew was hit hard by hand problems, the puncher’s burden, earlier this year; these problems are in the past, though, and ‘Bomber’ believes he is ready for the domestic dangermen.
He said: “I haven’t got a clue who I’ll fight next. I leave that to Frank, Dean [Powell] and Arnie [Farnell]. Obviously, I’d love someone like Danny McIntosh but my main goal is to keep winning. If that fight happens it happens but I have to keep winning, look good and force the fights. I called out Carl Dilks because he was saying that he’s the best light-heavyweight in Liverpool, so I’m just putting Danny McIntosh out there as he’s recently fought for titles. I’ll see what Frank does next. I just want to keep stepping up in class, fighting good guys and getting myself onto the road to fighting for titles.”
With five stoppages in six wins, Bellew is on a roll, the Evertonian will no doubt be targeting titles at some point in 2010 and a mouth watering match-up with Nathan Cleverly, the British and Commonwealth champ, could be a reality at some point down the line. In the meantime, however, Bellew will continue to do what he likes to do best – knocking out opponents and taking names.
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