By Adam Godfrey: Tony Bellew has several viable options in front of him at Cruiserweight (many of them dangerous), but a Heavyweight rematch with David Haye stands out as the most lucrative on the table. His status as WBC Cruiserweight Champion was amended to that of Emeritus Champion after his jump up a division, meaning he’ll automatically be granted a title shot against the winner of Mairis Briedis v Marco Huck’s battle for the title of full WBC Cruiserweight champion if/when he decides to return to the division.
This gives him rare flexibility of being able to fight at one particular weight safe in the knowledge that a title fight is in the bag should he move back down. Regardless of whether he wins or lose a Haye rematch, he’ll be in a strong position to reclaim what he earned in 2016 by beating Ilunga Makabu for the vacant WBC title, and would give either of the above mentioned Cruiserweights a difficult fight, as they would him.
Eddie Hearn today told Sky Sports that:
“Tony is up for the rematch and the biggest thing for him is getting the respect in the negotiations that he had to cower to in the first fight. We were given the opportunity to fight Haye in a deal that Tony didn’t believe was fair, but ultimately, I convinced him. We were glad we took that fight, but there were elements and aspects of that deal that were condescending. Very simply, Tony now wants the flip of that deal. He wants what David had last time, and vice versa.”
A stay at Heavyweight to challenge Deontay Wilder for his WBC Heavyweight strap has been mooted, although it is unlikely that the prospect of facing the American will share the same risk/reward split that it did for Bellew to tackle Haye. Wilder would be a massive favourite and would be worth less money than would a rematch with Haye, and besting the Liverpudlian would do little to compliment the CV of Wilder, given that Bellew has only fought once in the blue-riband division. Wilder is a polarizing figure and would be best advised to concentrate on adding a legitimate Heavyweight scalp to his resume rather than focusing on a blown-up Cruiserweight.
A fight against the WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker has also been discussed, but the WBO have already indicated that they expect Parker to defend against his mandatory Hughie Fury next, despite Fury pulling out of a penciled bout with the Kiwi at the beginning of May, citing a back injury. With Bellew not expected to hang around the Heavyweight division for a prolonged period of time, this fight is also unlikely.
Re-matching his British rival immediately seems the next logical step for Bellew, with Haye eager to avenge his loss and Bellew in no danger of losing face should he fail against an injury-free Heavyweight. It is unlikely that the PPV figures generated by the first fight would be achievable by the rematch, but nevertheless remains the best chance of a solid payday for each.
Haye was overwhelming favourite to win their March 2017 bout, but seemed to toy with his opponent when he should have tried to end the fight early, and paid the price for his reticence when his Achilles heel blew out in the sixth round, rendering him effectively lame. Bellew took full advantage and proceeded to batter his larger opponent, Haye’s trainer Shane McGuigan thankfully pulling his fighter out of the fight in the eleventh. The skirmish was an awkward one to watch, and without taking anything away from Bellew’s achievement of defeating an established Heavyweight in his first foray into the division, Haye would likely be favourite again, and would unlikely make the mistake of taking his opponent for granted a second time.
Regarding Haye, Hearn is probably right about his lack of options. Currently viewed as injury prone and without a respectable win for the best part of half a decade, nowadays he provides too much risk for too little reward for the other elite Heavyweights, and a cash-out rematch with Bellew would be a natural way for him to close the curtain on his long career.
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