By Scott Gilfoid: British light heavyweight champion Tony Bellew (18-1, 12 KO’s) will be fighting next on November 17th on the undercard of IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch’s fight against American Yusaf Mack at the Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom.

Bellew, 29, doesn’t have an opponent picked out, but his promoter Eddie Hearn was yapping about Bellew getting a title shot in 2013 and winning it.

If that’s the case then Hearn better open his pockets and dig up some cash to get a big named opponent for Bellew to fight because he’s not even ranked in the top 15 by any of the sanctioning bodies right now. If Hearn wants to get a title shot against one of the light heavyweight champions next year then he’s going to look awfully foolish trying to get a fight against one of the champions if Bellew isn’t even ranked in the top tier. Hearn is going to have to come up with some cash to get a decent name to come all the way to Nottingham.

Bellew isn’t going to get ranked high beating journeyman level fighters like Edison Miranda 24/7. Bellew beat Miranda by a 9th round TKO last Saturday night. Bellew looked like he was in bliss after the fight, dropping to his knees and hugging a bunch of people, as if he had beaten a quality top tier fighter and not just a journeyman. Hearn is going to have to better than that if he wants to get Bellew a title shot. He’s not a prospect anymore; he’s almost 30-years-old and can’t afford to be taking on second tier opposition like Miranda if he wants to get another crack at a title.

I’d like to see Bellew face one of these guys in his next fight:

Dawid Kostecki
Ismayl Sillakh
Cornelius White
Isaac Chilemba
Karo Murat
Dimitri Sukhotsky
Eduard Gutknecht