Whyte To Bellew: Stop Talking Rubbish, I'll Knock You Out in Six!

By Edward Chaykovsky

Not long after his stunning stoppage of David Haye, WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KOs) openly dismissed countryman Dillian Whyte (20-1, 15 KOs) as a potential opponent.

Bellew was a huge underdog when he moved up to the heavyweight division to face Haye earlier this month. Haye was controlling the contest until the sixth round, when he suffered a serious Achilles injury. The entire fight changed at that point, and Haye was eventually stopped in the eleventh round.

When Bellew won the contest, Whyte ripped him on social media by branding him as a "fake heavyweight" and said that he struggled to beat a "one-legged: fighter.

Bellew then answered back, by stating that he would never give Whyte the opportunity to fight him.

"I'm not even going to give him the time of day. What he said is I'm going to get 'absolutely smoked' by David Haye. He was wrong and why am I going to fight someone in a final world title eliminator, who got knocked out in a British title fight? Why would I fight him when I have got every world champion calling my name? It makes no sense whatsoever," Bellew told Sky Sports.

Whyte, who last fought in December in his 'Fight of The Year' war with Dereck Chisora, is hungry to get Bellew in the ring and believes that he would stop the current cruiserweight champion in six rounds.

He feels a fight with Bellew, in the UK, would generate more money than a fight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder or WBO champion Joseph Parker - two boxers who have expressed interest in facing Bellew in the coming months.

 "I'm one of the highest ranked heavyweights across the board, outside the champions," Whyte exclusively told Sky Sports. "Tony Bellew says 'I wouldn't fight you, because you picked David Haye to knock me out in six rounds'. I'm like dude, even your sponsor on your shorts picked David Haye to knock you out. That's why you were 16-1 or something silly like that. Stop talking rubbish and let's fight.

"If you want to prove yourself as a true heavyweight then fight me. Me versus Bellew will make more money than any other fight he can get at the minute. Trust me, that's a fact. I'm a bigger name here than Joseph Parker or Deontay Wilder."

"Bellew struggled to knock out a one-legged man. He didn't even knock him out properly. If he is struggling to knock out a one-legged man, how is he going to knockout a true heavyweight who always shows up to fight? It's impossible. He's a fake heavyweight and he should go back to cruiserweight. If he wants to stay at heavyweight, he needs to prove to me and the world that he's a natural heavyweight. I would knock Tony Bellew out in the first six rounds."

Whyte believes his next fight will take place in late May, as part of the Kell Brook vs. Errol Spence undercard in Sheffield.