By Scott Gilfoid: Tony Bellew may not be even the fifth best fighter in the cruiserweight division right now, but if he somehow pulls off a huge upset over David Haye next month in their heavyweight match on March 4, he could be in line for a quick title shot against IBF champion Anthony Joshua.
Bellew and Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn says that it’s going to be difficult to talk the 34-year-old Bellew into dropping back down to the cruiserweight division if he beats Haye next month. Hearn says that Bellew is down to his last five or six fights of his career, and he wants them to be all big ones.
If someone beats him [Haye] then you have to think that person comes into the mix as well,” Hearn said to skysports.com about Bellew being a possible opponent for Joshua if he defeats Haye on March 4. “If Tony Bellew beats David Haye, he becomes a huge name and it would be very difficult for him to return to the cruiserweight division, because of the fights available to him in the heavyweight division,” said Hearn.
What Hearn doesn’t say is that Bellew will likely be matched against Joshua even if he gets stopped by Haye.
Unfortunately for Bellew and Hearn the chances of him beating Haye are pretty low. The outcome of the Haye-Bellew fight is more likely to see Bellew getting blown out in lightning fashion by a 1st round knockout. You can argue that 41-year-old Wladimir Klitschko has a better shot of beating Joshua than Bellew does in defeating Haye. We’re talking mismatch here in the Haye vs. Bellew fight.
It’s nice pipe dream on Hearn’s part in talking about a ‘what if’ type scenario involving Bellew beating Haye, but it’s so unlikely to happen that it’s not really even worth talking about. The REAL question is will Hearn still give Bellew a title shot against Joshua if/when he gets knocked out by Haye? Hearn pulls the levers for both Bellew and Joshua’s career, and he can make that fight regardless of what happens to Bellew in the Haye fight.
Indeed, a lot of boxing fans believe that Bellew will stay at heavyweight even if he’s blasted out by Haye in the first couple of rounds on March 4. The reason for that is because Bellew is very likely to be destroyed if he moves back down to cruiserweight and defends his WBC title against the winner of the Marco Huck vs. Mairis Briedis fight.
Unlike the largely soft fighters that Bellew has fought at cruiserweight since moving up to the weight class in 2014, Huck and Briedis actually have talent and can fight. They aren’t like the guys that Bellew has been beating since he moved up to cruiserweight. As such, if Bellew moves back down to cruiserweight after losing to Haye, he’s very likely to be destroyed by the winner of the Huck-Briedis fight. Once that happens, it’s pretty much game over for Bellew.
I don’t know what Hearn can do with him. Yeah, Bellew can certainly his career but he will have been knocked out in consecutive fights, and there really won’t be any place for him to go. That’s why it’s likely that Bellew will stay at heavyweight even after his predictable knockout loss to Haye. Bellew can put some wins together over fodder opposition and then get a title shot against Joshua simply because he’s promoted by the same promoter in Eddie Hearn.
I don’t think it’s good for boxing for over-matched fighters to be put in with super large heavyweights like Joshua. I mean, I would be all for Bellew fighting Joshua IF he beats David Haye and then proves himself against a top heavyweight like Luis Ortiz or Carlos Takam. If Bellew put together two solid wins at heavyweight, then I would totally agree that he deserves a title shot against Joshua. But if Bellew loses to Haye and then still gets a title shot after beating two or three dreadful bottom feeder type heavyweights, then I think that’s bad for the sport.
A match between Bellew and Joshua would be a business fight rather than a sporting fight if we see a scenario like that. Bellew should have to earn a title shot against Joshua like the other heavyweights. Look at Luis Ortiz. He still hasn’t gotten a shot against Joshua despite the fact that he’s been fighting at heavyweight his entire career.
If Bellew is able to move up to heavyweight and get a title shot against Joshua off the back of a knockout loss to Haye, then I think it’s bad news for boxing. I do see Hearn letting Bellew fight Joshua if he rebuilds his career quickly if/when he loses to Haye. I don’t see Bellew having to beat anyone good to get a title shot against Joshua unfortunately.