Who should Bellew face down the line?

**BoxingFan85** · 03-14-2017, 12:15 PM

Originally posted by creekrat77

Cruiserweight

Oleksandr Usyk
11-0
2012 Olympic Gold
Murat Gassiev
24-0
Denis Lebedev
29-3
Krzysztof Glowacki
26-1
Marco Huck
40-3-1
Krzysztof Wlodarczyk
52-3-1
Mairis Briedis
21-0
Sergey Kovalev
30-1-1
Adonis Stevenson rematch
28-1

Heavyweight

David Haye rematch
28-3
Deontay Wilder
38-0
2008 Olympic Bronze
Tyson Fury
25-0
Wladimir Klitschko
64-4
1996 Olympic Gold
Luis Ortiz
27-0
343-19 amateur record
Anthony Joshua
18-0
2012 Olympic Gold
Joseph Parker
22-0
Shannon Briggs
60-6-1-1

Honestly, I'd like to see him go all the way and fight Deontay Wilder. So far this has been a story book second wind to Bellew's career. I believe his punching power and abilities are greatly underestimated. Wilder IMO is hiding glass.
Bellew is such a colorful character at Heavyweight and brings back this working class average joe perspective back to boxing. He's thus far beat all the odds against him post light heavyweight.
If he wins than obviously he should stay at heavy and would be awesome to see him face Fury or Briggs (would be the most entertaining **** ever for a build up). He deserves a somewhat lighter touch if he takes down Wilder.

If he is looking at returning to Cruiserweight from here on out due to not wanting to get seriously hurt, the names are stacked to what he could land. I'm sure Adonis or Sergey would have no problem jumping up in weight to fight for his belt. Plus there is plenty of opportunities where the Cruiserweight division stands today.

I'll be brutally honest.. Bellew gets decimated if he faces anyone in your list.. Yes, he won over Haye but we all know Haye was winning the rounds until his ankle gave up..
Bellew isn't even the best in his division CW, forget about him moving to HW & facing guys who hit 3X harder than he has ever taken in his career.. If a healthy Haye shows up, Bellew will be put to sleep..

**creekrat77** · 03-14-2017, 12:32 PM

Originally posted by BoxingFan85

I'll be brutally honest.. Bellew gets decimated if he faces anyone in your list.. Yes, he won over Haye but we all know Haye was winning the rounds until his ankle gave up..
Bellew isn't even the best in his division CW, forget about him moving to HW & facing guys who hit 3X harder than he has ever taken in his career.. If a healthy Haye shows up, Bellew will be put to sleep..

Agreed. Conventional wisdom says Wilder is perfectly capable of putting him away in the 1st. But then again, given his string of great performances whether it's just on paper or not, he has momentum on his side. Stranger things have happened in boxing as we saw with Haye. A slightly relatable scenario is Danny Garcia. How that guy has come this far is beyond me.

Disagree about Haye though. I think his body is finished. If I was a betting man, I'd say he has been abusing PED's for years and his body is falling apart. That was a brutal injury and give big respect to him sticking in the fight. But even though Bellew was gassing, so was Haye before the achilles tear. The difference to me is a gassed David Haye can't produce the same volume and needed defense as a gassed Bellew. Still though, if the rematch happens from what we are supposed to believe is a healthy Haye, Bellew would still be a big underdog in my book.
If Bellew wants to make the most out of what he could accomplish, he should consider fighting Wilder. Wilder will probably blow him out. But the grit and calmness of Bellew might be able to weather the storm and take the fight into areas where he will be underestimated.

**Cutthroat** · 03-14-2017, 12:36 PM

Get in proper shape for a HW bout and fight Parker, it's a much more winnable/survivable fight than Wilder, Ortiz, etc. and probably a big money fight.

Haye probably isn't going to fully heal for at least 1-2 years if he decides to return. Bellew could also stay semi-retired and just wait for him, enjoy his time off.

**BoxingFan85** · 03-14-2017, 01:20 PM

Originally posted by creekrat77

Agreed. Conventional wisdom says Wilder is perfectly capable of putting him away in the 1st. But then again, given his string of great performances whether it's just on paper or not, he has momentum on his side. Stranger things have happened in boxing as we saw with Haye. A slightly relatable scenario is Danny Garcia. How that guy has come this far is beyond me.

Disagree about Haye though. I think his body is finished. If I was a betting man, I'd say he has been abusing PED's for years and his body is falling apart. That was a brutal injury and give big respect to him sticking in the fight. But even though Bellew was gassing, so was Haye before the achilles tear. The difference to me is a gassed David Haye can't produce the same volume and needed defense as a gassed Bellew. Still though, if the rematch happens from what we are supposed to believe is a healthy Haye, Bellew would still be a big underdog in my book.
If Bellew wants to make the most out of what he could accomplish, he should consider fighting Wilder. Wilder will probably blow him out. But the grit and calmness of Bellew might be able to weather the storm and take the fight into areas where he will be underestimated.

I agree to an extent about Haye.. He has looked bulky, slow since his return & he is here for big fat checks & not to face top competition.. But the rest of the HWs hit way harder if not harder for Bellew to hold up.. Haye missed the plot in their fight & did not push for action, a rematch is beneficial for both in terms of $.. Wilder, Wlad, AJ, Parker all are legit HWs who would outweigh Bellew by 40lbs fight night..

**Caught Square** · 03-14-2017, 01:55 PM

Bellew is a good cruiserweight but i think he'd be crazy to go back down there and get schooled by someone like Usyk for not much money. He said he wants the big money for his family and that's at heavy.

Dillian Whyte or Briggs would be a good fights with a fun build up, then a rematch with Haye and retirement. IMO Haye was going to fight Briggs for the WBA regular if they both won.

He says he wants Wilder which I think is a bad idea but I suppose win or lose the Haye rematch will still be there and he can still demand a better split.

**creekrat77** · 03-14-2017, 01:56 PM

Originally posted by BoxingFan85

I agree to an extent about Haye.. He has looked bulky, slow since his return & he is here for big fat checks & not to face top competition.. But the rest of the HWs hit way harder if not harder for Bellew to hold up.. Haye missed the plot in their fight & did not push for action, a rematch is beneficial for both in terms of $.. Wilder, Wlad, AJ, Parker all are legit HWs who would outweigh Bellew by 40lbs fight night..

Isn't Wilder the same size as Haye at about 220-ish? Also the absence of Booth really showed against Bellew. Haye has morphed into an offense oriented style but it doesn't work for him. Sure he is a big puncher but he is a natural counter puncher and walking down his opponents is not his forte. He just doesn't have the offense to follow up shots in the pocket. He either throws a one or one-two and then is forced to retreat and reset. To do what he wants to do (post Booth) he needs to be able to throw consecutive power shots and be comfortable close range slipping punches. Like a Joe Louis, Roberto Duran or Evander Holyfield. But when it's all said and done Haye has been a boxer puncher his whole career and clearly has lost the attributes that got him to where he is. The biggest thing is timing. He doesn't have that quick trigger anymore and doesn't seem to have the mental fortitude of a Marquez to stay composed whilst taking shots looking for a good counter.

But anyways for Bellew to face Wilder, I think that'd be the best opportunity to cash out while potentially causing the biggest upset since Buster Douglas. I don't follow heavyweight scene too closely but if he were to face Joshua after a Wlad win this year, it'd probably be a bigger purse and fan interest. With Wilder I'd just like to see him get the most exposure as possible because the idea nobody on the street knows who he is as the American Heavyweight champ with an undefeated record reminiscent of Foreman is a travesty. Even if he truly is a hype job with a pathetic paper record fighting the easiest test in the division. But the sell-ability of Bellew as some sort of modern day British folk hero who rivals Fury in trash talk would be better than most other guys Wilder could choose. If Haye gets well and fights again, I'd give mad respect to him if he'd bite the bullet and take on Povetkin

**Robbie Barrett** · 03-14-2017, 02:07 PM

Because Bellew got lucky with Haye injuring himself it's now OK for Wilder to cherry pick him?

**BoxingFan85** · 03-14-2017, 02:07 PM

Originally posted by creekrat77

Isn't Wilder the same size as Haye at about 220-ish? Also the absence of Booth really showed against Bellew. Haye has morphed into an offense oriented style but it doesn't work for him. Sure he is a big puncher but he is a natural counter puncher and walking down his opponents is not his forte. He just doesn't have the offense to follow up shots in the pocket. He either throws a one or one-two and then is forced to retreat and reset. To do what he wants to do (post Booth) he needs to be able to throw consecutive power shots and be comfortable close range slipping punches. Like a Joe Louis, Roberto Duran or Evander Holyfield. But when it's all said and done Haye has been a boxer puncher his whole career and clearly has lost the attributes that got him to where he is. The biggest thing is timing. He doesn't have that quick trigger anymore and doesn't seem to have the mental fortitude of a Marquez to stay composed whilst taking shots looking for a good counter.

But anyways for Bellew to face Wilder, I think that'd be the best opportunity to cash out while potentially causing the biggest upset since Buster Douglas. I don't follow heavyweight scene too closely but if he were to face Joshua after a Wlad win this year, it'd probably be a bigger purse and fan interest. With Wilder I'd just like to see him get the most exposure as possible because the idea nobody on the street knows who he is as the American Heavyweight champ with an undefeated record reminiscent of Foreman is a travesty. Even if he truly is a hype job with a pathetic paper record fighting the easiest test in the division. But the sell-ability of Bellew as some sort of modern day British folk hero who rivals Fury in trash talk would be better than most other guys Wilder could choose. If Haye gets well and fights again, I'd give mad respect to him if he'd bite the bullet and take on Povetkin

Well Bellew said he won't fight Joshua because they're mates iirc.. Either way I don't think Bellew has business being in HW when he hasn't even proven his worth in CW.. Usyk, GLowacki, Lebedev, Gassiev all are top fighters & a good fight to prove himself..
As for Wilder, damn I want him to face better competition all along but it has never materialized. There can not be any more excuses for Wilder in his next fight.. It looks like its Stiverne(mandatory) but post that its gotta be Parker, AJ/Wlad, Ortiz surely no excuses..

**creekrat77** · 03-14-2017, 02:09 PM

Originally posted by Caught Square

Bellew is a good cruiserweight but i think he'd be crazy to go back down there and get schooled by someone like Usyk for not much money. He said he wants the big money for his family and that's at heavy.

Dillian Whyte or Briggs would be a good fights with a fun build up, then a rematch with Haye and retirement. IMO Haye was going to fight Briggs for the WBA regular if they both won.

He says he wants Wilder which I think is a bad idea but I suppose win or lose the Haye rematch will still be there and he can still demand a better split.

Hope it goes like this. Fight Wilder. Wins, then who knows. If he loses, rematch Haye where he likely will lose again. Then go out as the A side again against Briggs which is very winnable. I'm not sure if Haye can recover and come back at the same level. I feel like his body is just falling apart and the disclosed injuries are just the few we know about.

Who should Bellew face down the line?