By Scott Gilfoid: Tony Bellew’s first defense of his WBC cruiserweight belt against near bottom #14 WBC fringe contender BJ Flores (32-2-1, 20 KOs) is now set for October 15 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Bellew will have the hometown advantage, but he probably doesn’t need it to beat the 37-year-old Flores.
I still don’t know why on earth Bellew chose this guy to fight because he’s not ranked high, and he was recently beaten by Beibut Shumenov. But I guess that’s probably the whole reason why the 33-year-old Bellew chose to fight Flores rather than the unbeaten talent Mairis Briedis, who he should be fighting next given that he’s the No.1 fighter in the World Boxing Council’s rankings. I’m just saying.
Bellew was standing and crowing like a price rooster at the local county fair after he beat Illunga Makabu last May in their fight for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title at Goodison Park in Liverpool, UK. With the way that Bellew was bragging and patting himself on the back afterwards, you’d think he discovered a cure for cancer.
Bellew started flapping his gums, saying he’s the best fighter in the cruiserweight division and such. It’s interesting how Bellew had promoted himself as the best fighter in the division despite not having faced the real lions in this weight class in Oleksandr Usyk, Krzystof Glowacki, Marco Huck, Murat Gassiev, Briedis or Denis Lebedev.
Heck, Bellew hasn’t even faced Shumenov yet. I mean, I can understand a little bit of bragging and self-promoting if Bellew had at least beaten one of the above mentioned fighters, but he only beat Makabu. I hate to rain on Bellew’s parade but there are much better fighters in the division than Makabu. It is kind of telling though with Bellew choosing to fight a lower ranked fighter like the 37-year-old Flores for his next fight rather than someone ranked really high like for instance his #1 WBC challenger Briedis. What does that tell you?
“The sight of him winds me up. I keep seeing him everywhere and he’s just an annoying individual,” said Bellew to skysports.com about Flores. “I finally get my chance to shut BJ Flores up,” Bellew said. “He’s been following me everywhere and now is the time for him to back up his words.”
Gee, I wonder why Bellew is getting all worked up about his fight against Flores. It’s not as if he’s fighting someone that is any kind of threat to beating him. Why is Bellew working up a lather over this fight. he should be taking it easy, seeing it as an easy payday for him, and being happy that the WBC is letting him bypass his #1 ranked contender Briedis so that he can take the easy defense.
If Bellew really believes he can beat Flores as easy as he portrays the fight to be, then he should be totally chilled with this match-up. A fighter only gets worked up like Bellew is when there’s some self-doubt going on. I’m not surprised, really. Bellew doesn’t have the kind of talent to assume that he can 100 percent beat anyone in the cruiserweight division’s top 15. Bellew doesn’t have that kind of talent.
I see Bellew as just a paper champion. He didn’t beat anyone good to win the vacant WBC title, and now he’s steering around his #1 contender Briedis so that he can face a fringe contender in Flores. And to top it off, Bellew is getting all upset about it. I guess I would too if I wasn’t sure if I was going to win the fight. Bellew seems to be upset that Flores is talking positive about himself and his chances of winning on October 15.
What does Bellew expect Flores to do? Does he want him to bow and cringe in his presence and act in a subservient way so that he feels better about himself? The only reason why Flores feels he can win this fight is because he’s seen Bellew and recognized that he’s not a really solid champion. He’s jumped up light heavyweight with a body type that isn’t really like the other top cruiserweights.
“I couldn’t repeat what he’s been saying but he’s said a lot of silly things. I’m going to show him why I’m the best cruiserweight in the world,” said Bellew.
I don’t see Bellew at the best cruiserweight in the world. I don’t see him as the second or even the third best. I rate Bellew around No.10 or No.14 in the division. He’s very, very flawed. Flores might beat Bellew if he can knock him out on October 15. If the fight goes to the cards, then I see Flores losing for sure. I cannot see him being given a decision in this fight.