By Edward Chaykovsky
WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew (28-2-1, 18KOs) believes he is fully capable of making David Haye (28-2, 26KOs) quit on March 4th at the O2 Arena in London.
He feels Haye physically quit when he got stopped by Carl Thompson in 2004 and he mentally quit when he lost a lopsided twelve round decision to Wladimir Klitschko in 2011.
Bellew is certainly taking a very dangerous risk by jumping up in weight to trade punches with Haye at the heavyweight limit. The fight will be carried by Sky Sports Box Office.
Over the years, Haye pulled out from several scheduled fights, suffered several injuries and finally returned to the ring for the first time - since July 2012 - in January of this year. He's had two easy wins over opponents who had little to no chance of winning.
Bellew feels there is a very good possibility that he will knock Haye out in the first four rounds. If the fight happens to go beyond the four round distance, Bellew is confident Haye will quit at some point in the contest.
If Haye lands big and scores a knockdown, which Bellew admits might happen, the Liverpool boxer says he will get off the floor and recover - which is something he doesn't believe Haye will be able to do.
"What I will tell you is, if this fight goes past four rounds, he's going to quit," said Bellew to Sky Sports. "At some stage, it will get too hard and he will quit. He hasn't got the fight in him anymore."
"I love fighting. I am not 100 percent in the head, I enjoy having a fight. We will see on March 4, where it happens, when it happens, but I must stress when I knock out David Haye on March 4 - I am then the best heavyweight in the world outside of them champions. Just let that sink in and think about where do I go from there. He's the best heavyweight in the world outside of the champions. There is no debating that whatsoever.
"He's possibly the most dangerous heavyweight in the world, including the champions. What does he do very well? He has got a massive right hand. His technique's not the best but his fantastic athleticism allows him to make up for that. If I can drag him to the second half of the fight and to the deep waters, I will drown him, I will win easy, but I don't think it will get that far.
"I do believe this fight could be a four-round shootout and I am under no illusions if he catches me clean in the first four rounds I am going to have to get off the floor to win, but make no mistake he's going to have to do the same thing. The big difference between me and him, he hasn't got it in him to get off the floor."
