Ilunga Makabu

Haye accepts Bellew’s challenge!

by

haye6

By Scott Gilfoid: In his moment of glory last night, Tony Bellew (27-2-1, 17 KOs) called out David Haye and IBF/WBA cruiserweight Denis Lebedev for fights. Bellew dared Haye to come down to the cruiserweight division to face him, even though it would mean that Haye would need to lose 24 pounds of muscle to make that fight a possibility.

For Lebedev, Bellew says he would need to come to the UK to fight him, which is another unlikely possibility because Lebedev attracts large crowds in Russia for his fights. I think it would pretty much destroy Haye to lose 24 pounds of muscle right now to drain down to 200lbs just so that he can fight Bellew in a fight that wouldn’t make nearly the money that a fight against Anthony Joshua would make.

If Haye did make that mistake, then he could forget about having a chance to beat Joshua. He might still get the fight against Joshua, but his body would likely be in shock from losing 24 pounds and then putting it back on.

Bellew vs Makabu: MGM Manchester’s Johnney Roye On Training Ilunga Makabu

by

YouTube video

Boxing fans on Sunday evening at Goodison Park will witness what has been billed as the ‘Real Life Rocky Story’. A WBC title fight between Tony Bellew and Ilunga Makabu. A fight Makabu’s trainer Johnney Roye believes is going to be explosive; “Both their records would suggest this is the kind of fight you can’t afford to blink” he insists.

Much has been made of Makabu’s punching power. A 19-1 record (his only defeat registered on his debut) is impressive enough. Throw in the fact that 18 of those victories have come by way of stoppage would suggest that Makabu’s power is legitimate.

Bellew: Makabu doesn’t have as much power as me

by

YouTube video

By Scott Gilfoid: #6 WBC Tony Bellew (26-2-1, 16 KOs) is the clear underdog in his fight against #1 WBC Ilunga Makabu (19-1, 18 KOs) for their fight this Sunday night for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title, but that’s not stopping him from talking like he’s the favorite for their fight the Goodison Park Stadium in Liverpool, UK.

Bellew, 6’2”, says he’s not only bigger than the 5’11” Makabu, but also stronger and faster. Bellew expects Makabu to come in lighter for this fight than he usually does, and he thinks that will be a mistake because he won’t have the frame to compete with him.

Hearn: Bellew vs. Makabu is a 50-50 fight

by

bellew76

By Scott Gilfoid: #6 WBC Tony Bellew (26-2-1, 16 KOs) is arguably getting a title shot this Sunday night that he doesn’t deserve against the talented and higher ranked #1 WBC Ilunga Makabu (19-1, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title at Goodison Park in Liverpool, UK.

While the 33-year-old Bellew is seen as an underdog in the eyes of a lot of fans, his promoter Eddie Hearn sees the Bellew-Makabu fight as a 50-50 affair. Hearn gives Bellew a decent chance of winning the contest. Bellew doesn’t have the experience of fighting guys like Makabu at the cruiserweight level unfortunately.

The closest thing Bellew has come to fighting a talent like Makabu was facing bottom fringe contender Mateusz Masternak last December. Bellew almost lost the fight. It was pretty sad to watch, because I had the fight even going into the 12th round.

Bellew-Makabu, Price-Pejsar & Smith-Reynoso on 5/29

by

bellew576

By Scott Gilfoid: Well, it’s the moment of truth for #6 WBC Tony Bellew (26-2-1, 16 KOs) in him facing #1 WBC Ilunga Makabu (19-1, 18 KOs) this Sunday on May 29 at Goodison Park Stadium, in Liverpool, UK. After toiling away in the cruiserweight division for two years, Bellew, 33, will be fighting for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title against one of the best fighters in that weight class in Makabu.

This is going to be a really tough match for Bellew because he was flopping around like a fish out of water the last time he fought a huge puncher in Adonis Stevenson three years ago in 2013. Bellew could not stand up to Stevenson’s power once he started exchanging punches with him.

In facing Makabu, Bellew will be fighting a guy with better punching power than Stevenson, and it’s going to be tough for Bellew to be able to stand up to his withering power.

Tony Bellew confident he’ll beat Ilunga Makabu

by

bellewBy Scott Gilfoid: Tony Bellew (26-2-1, 16 KOs) has two and a half weeks to go before he faces #1 WBC Ilunga Makabu (19-1, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title on May 29 at the Goodison Park Stadium, in Liverpool, UK.

Bellew, 32, feels he’s going to win and he can’t wait to get in there with the hard hitting Makabu. I’d the chances of Bellew getting the win over Makabu are not good at all. The one thing Bellew has going for him in this fight is the hometown advantage. However, having the fight at home in Liverpool won’t likely be much of an advantage for Bellew because very few of Makabu’s fights ever make it to the judges.

The southpaw Makabu has a way of taking the judges out of the equation by knocking his opponents out. The last fighter that went the distance with Makabu was Dmytro Kucher, who Makabu beat by a 12 round majority decision three years ago in July 2013.

Bellew: I’m going to stop Ilunga Makabu

by

bellew56By Scott Gilfoid: Cruiserweight Tony Bellew (26-2-1, 16 KOs) says he has his toughest fight of his on May 29 against Ilunga Makabu (19-1, 18 KOs) at Goodison Park Stadium in Liverpool, UK. Bellew and Makabu will be fighting for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title in this fight. Bellew has the hometown advantage but he’s really up against it in this fight.

Bellew says he’s got a plan of how he wants to deal with the hard hitting Makabu. He says he’s going to keep him on the outside and nail him with shots. I’m not sure if that’s going to work too well though because Makabu is another Adonis Stevenson type of knockout artist who is good at getting in punching range to land his big power shots.

“So I’m going to have to nail him to keep him off. I’m going to have to keep him at range, use my skills and use my feet, and I believe when I keep landing I will break him down and I will stop him,” said Bellew to skysports.com.

David Price to fight on 5/29 on Bellew-Makabu card

by

price456By Scott Gilfoid: The struggling British heavyweight David Price (19-3, 16 KOs) has been added to the May 29th Tony Bellew vs. Ilunga Makabu at Goodison Park Stadium, in Liverpool, UK. The 6’7” Price still doesn’t have an opponent as of yet, but there’s a chance that he could wind up facing unbeaten David Allen (9-0-1, 6 KOs).

Price hasn’t fought since being stopped in the 2nd round by the hard hitting German fighter Erkan Teper last July. Teper later tested positive for a banned substance. Price doesn’t see his loss to him as being legit due to the positive test. Never the less, the way that Price keeps getting knocked out has to make you wonder whether he’s got the chin to succeed in this sport.

It’s hard to believe that just three years ago, Price was being hyped just as much as Anthony Joshua is now. Price was doing just as good as the 6’6” Joshua has been doing. Things fell apart for Price when he was put in with veteran Tony Thompson in back to back fights, both of which Price lost by knockout.

Tony Bellew vs. Ilunga Makabu on 5/29 at Goodison Park

by

bellew576By Scott Gilfoid: Former two-time world title challenger Tony Bellew (26-2-1, 16 KOs) will be facing Ilunga Makabu (19-1, 18 KOs) on May 29 for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title at Goodison Park Stadium, Liverpool, UK.

The fight is now official. Bellew and his promoters at Matchroom Sport were pushing for the fight to get staged at Goodison Park, and now they’ve gotten their way. It’s up to Bellew now to see if he can take advantage of having the fight staged in his own hometown or not.

Unless the fight goes to the cards, I can’t see how it will help the 33-year-old Bellew at all. I can definitely see it working against him if he tries to get too brave and start trading with the big punching southpaw Makabu.