By Scott Gilfoid: Tony Bellew (19-1, 12 KO’s0 easily beat #5 WBC Roberto Bolonti (30-2, 19 KO’s) by a two knockdown 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night in Nottingham to win the WBC Silver light heavyweight title, but the win came at a heavy price for the the soon to be 30-year-old Bellew, as he suffered a bad cut on his right eyebrow in the 3rd round.

The cut is going to keep Bellew out of action until at least April. As bad as that cut was I’d be surprised if Bellew can come back before May and if he does rush himself back the cut will likely reopen as soon as it gets hit solidly. It might not matter if Bellew faces another weak opponent without much of a chance to compete with him. But if plans on facing someone good like Eduard Gutknecht, Denis Grachev, or Ismayl Sillakh, Bellew is going to have some problems.

I’m hoping Bellew does face one of those guys because I’d like to see how he does against a decent contender instead of the fodder he’s been facing lately. I still can’t understand what was going through the mind of the World Boxing Council when they decided to rank Bolonti #5. That really made things easier for Bellew because he got a weak opponent in order for him to pick up the WBC Silver strap.

Bellew wants a shot against Chad Dawson but the way Bellew was fighting against Bolonti I think it might be a much better idea for Bellew to spend all of 2013 working on his skills because he’s too limited to beat Dawson the way he is now. Bellew needs some fights against guys with a pulse that can fight so that he can learn how to box well enough to compete with a talent like Dawson. Right now Bellew is too primitive to hang with Dawson.