Bellew can still bark but can he bite?

By Jack Tarpey @jackboxing24 – Well we witnessed another typical Tony Bellew build up, the former 15 year old doorman turned boxer has always relied on his quick witted mouth to upsell his notoriety as a genuine contender in the world of boxing. Considering his biggest accomplishment in the ring so far is ‘nearly’ beating Nathan Cleverly for his handed down world strap, he has managed to do himself proud in becoming a well-known name within British boxing scene.

Bellew has recently changed his boxing style from the exciting come forward fighter to the safety first approach, the idea for this was to ensure results but in reality all it has done is left a sour taste in the mouth of the paying punter, coming to watch a self-proclaimed bully in the ring only to be met with a fighter who isn’t willing to commit himself leaves more to be desired for the boxing purest.

His past 2 fights have gone the full 12 rounds whilst his last recorded stoppage was against the past it Edison Miranda, who wasn’t exactly knocked out, instead it was as if he just couldn’t be bothered carrying on anymore and retired himself in the 9th round.

Bellew should realise that his best attribute is his aggression win lose or draw if he fights with the same aggression we have witnessed earlier on in his career he will certainly be a fans favourite once again, much like the recently retired Michael Katsidis who became a house hold name purely due to his relentless come forward style, sure it’s not always guaranteed results but its guaranteed entertainment which is the sole reason we have professional sports, to be entertained!

The boxing public don’t appreciate to be promised all-out war to then receive less action than a chess game. This most notably happened in the infamous Haye vs Klitschko fight and also practically in the whole of Audley Harrison’s career which inevitably became the catalysts for Audley becoming the most booed British heavyweight in history.

Bellew will now find himself on the undercard rather than headlining for a while, which will give him a chance for a few more tune up fights so he can rediscover what style suits him best, hopefully he decides to revert back to the old Bellew, the Bellew who in the armatures knocked out every opponent bar 1 on his way to claim the ABA heavyweight championship.