Tony Bellew Wants a Crack at Joseph Parker - If He Beats Fury

By Edward Chaykovsky

According to head trainer Dave Coldwell, former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KOs) would be willing to stick around the heavyweight division for one more fight, a showdown with WBO world champion Joseph Parker (22-0, 18 KOs).

Last month, Bellew pulled off a major upset when he moved up to the heavyweight division and stopped two-division world champion David Haye at the O2 Arena in London.

Parker is scheduled to face mandatory challenger Hughie Fury on May 6th in Auckland, New Zealand.

Bellew was the WBC cruiserweight champ when he faced Haye. After that fight, the sanctioning body downgraded him to the status of "champion in recess." The WBC was unsure if Bellew would ever return to the division.

The Liverpool champion has several options, including sticking around at heavyweight for Parker or moving back to cruiser for a direct shot at the new WBC champion Mairius Briedis, who defeated Marco Huck for the vacant belt.

Some of the fighters Coldwell ruled out are Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury - because they are far too big. But Parker is very similar in size to Bellew.

“Forget Joshua that’s not even a name that’s come into the equation,” Coldwell told Boxing News. “He’s just absolutely massive, he’s a completely different animal.

“If Joseph Parker beats Hughie Fury, which is by no means a given, but if Parker were to beat Fury then Parker’s six foot four, he’s about 17 stone but he’s not the finished article he’s not an absolute killer. He’s a decent fighter that’s coming through, I know he’s got a version of the title but he’s still a fighter that’s a work in progress. Wilder for me technically looks very, very poor at times but he’s just very long, very, very big puncher and that’s the thing. Again he’s a giant.”