By Scott Gilfoid: Tony Bellew says he and former 2 division world champion David Haye are “miles apart” in their negotiations, according to Sky Sports News. Bellew (29-2-1, 19 KOs) feels that Haye (28-3, 26 KOs) is acting like their previous March 4 fight never took place.
Bellew, 34, beat Haye by an 11th round TKO after Haye accidently fell out of the ring his corner stopped the fight. Haye had suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in round 6. The injury by Haye tarnished Bellew’s win, as many boxing fans believe that he would have lost the fight if not for the injury.
I saw the Haye-Bellew fight last March and I noted that Bellew was helpless to stop Haye’s power jab. He kept getting hit by it repeatedly. Bellew was fighting a totally defensive fight, trying not to get hit by Haye’s power shots. I must admit, Bellew was doing a pretty good job of evading Haye’s power punches, but he eating power jabs repeatedly. Haye could have done that all night long and won an easy decision if not for the injury.
Bellew was getting beaten in the fight up to that point. After Haye was hobbled by the injury, Bellew was able to come on and win rounds. The fight arguably shouldn’t have been stopped, but Haye’s trainer chose to have the fight called off after he lost his footing and fell out of the ring. Haye was catching Bellew with big shots before he fell out of the ring.
“We’re miles apart,” Bellew said to skysports.com. “People might say it’s getting closer, we’re miles apart. I’m not bending to any of his demands. It’s just not happening whatsoever. I won the first fight. He’s pretending like the first fight never happened. He can kiss my [expletive].”
Oh my, doesn’t Bellew sound like he’s coming unglued? It’s sad to see Bellew melting down like this just because Haye isn’t giving him the advantage in the negotiations. Why should he? Bellew needs to stop bellyaching and understand that he probably would have gotten royally whipped if not for Haye’s injury. I’m just saying. Bellew needs to realize that his win over Haye was tainted. When you get an injury-aided victory like the one Bellew got over Haye, of course you’re not going to get credit. It’s a like a no contest in my view. Haye lost the fight, but he didn’t lose it in the real sense in the eyes of many boxing fans. Haye was fighting on one leg. How does Bellew claim victory off of that?
“There is unfinished business because that injury robbed me of my total glory,”said Bellew. “I still took a lot of glory from that victory. He hit me with the best he had in the first and second round. I hit him with the best I had. He couldn’t take it, and I could. I slayed the ‘Hayefaker’.”
No, Bellew, you didn’t get any glory from that fight. The boxing public saw you beat Haye ONLY because of the injury, not because you were the better fighter on the night. Haye was better than you before you got injured. Just accept it and you can negotiate the fight under terms that are more realistic. I don’t know what Haye is asking for in the negotiations, but you need to understand that this is your best chance for a payday. If you fight Andre Ward, you’re not likely to get the same kind of cash as you would against Haye. If you get schooled by Ward, which I see as the end result of a fight between you and him, then you can forget about getting a good deal in the negotiations with Haye, ever. None of the heavyweight world champions are available to fight you. Even if they were available, I seriously doubt they would use up one of their fights to face you. Face it; your best chance for a big money fight is Haye.
If Bellew gets angry and walks away from the Haye negotiations, he’s going to find out how limited his options truly are. He’s likely going to have a ton of problems trying to put together a fight against Andre Ward. If thinks negotiating a fight with Haye is difficult, wait until he tries to hammer out a deal with Ward. Bellew could end up pulling his hair out in frustration, and wasting months and months of time trying to make a deal. Who else is there for Bellew to fight? He can’t fight the top cruiserweight talents like Mairis Briedis, Marco Huck, Murat Gassiev or Oleksandr Usyk. All those guys are currently tied down in taking part in the World Boxing Super Series at this time. The guys that aren’t competing in the series don’t have the name value for Bellew to fight.
If Bellew fights one of the heavyweight contenders, he’ll probably lose if he faces anyone with a small amount of talent or power. I’d like to see Bellew at least fight a bottom feeder in the heavyweight division so he can try and build up a fight between him and WBC champion Deontay Wilder or WBO champion Joseph Parker. If Bellew could take on and beat the likes of Jarrell Miller or Dillian Whyte, he would be in a good position to get a title shot against the likes of Deontay or Parker. The question is would Bellew be willing to risk his backside facing Miller, Whyte or Carlos Takam? I’d say that’s a big no. If Bellew wasn’t willing to fight Briedis, how in the world would he risk fighting guys that are bigger and stronger than him?
Bellew should take the deal Haye is offering him and get that fight done. If Bellew beats Haye convincingly without him suffering an injury, then the two can fight each other a third time with a more favorable deal for Bellew. That’s my advice to Bellew. He should pretend the previous Haye fight never took place, and instead see the current negotiations as the starting point for their first real fight. The injury that Haye suffered last time they fought was so debilitating that you can’t really count that as a true win for Bellew in my opinion. The rematch is a do over.