Speaking of Ward, Usyk and Fury, and a Bellew vs Adonis Stevenson II Rematch
Editorial By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Now that British superstar Tony Bellew has finished off the remains of faded ex-heavyweight champion David Haye twice, Bellew has mentioned names like Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury and Andre Ward.
Ward, logically, would not want to fight Bellew and come out of retirement for a super fight unless the set weight is probably at the 175 pounds light heavyweight limit. That being the case, Bellew could establish his best case for a fight with Andre Ward by rematching with Adonis Stevenson and winning the World Boxing Council World Light Heavyweight title.
Stevenson, 29-1 with 24 knockouts, Blainville, Quebec, Canada, will turn 41 years old this September and will defend his WBC title on May 19, 2018, against Badou Jack at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Stevenson stopped Bellew, 30-2 with 20 knockouts, age 35, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, by dropping and stopping him in the sixth round in November 2013 at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City. However, as Stevenson has aged, Bellew is a younger, strong, vastly better fighter than he was five years ago.
Bellew has youth on his side, both fighters have vast experience. Bellew is a smarter fighter, and much stronger now than when he originally fought Stevenson. If Stevenson gets by Jack, a rematch with Bellew might be a better option than a unification bout with Sergey Kovalev, which Stevenson has long avoided anyway. Bellew, who weighed 210 pounds for the David Haye rematch, would have to go down to 175 pounds, a 35-pound drop, to rematch Stevenson. Bellew would only have to lose 10 pounds to reach 200 pounds to fight Usyk for his WBC and WBO world cruiserweight titles. Or, Bellew could meet Stevenson or Ward at a significant catch weight, says 185 pounds or similar for a significant belt of some kind, if enough money was put by British promoters on the table.
Bellew is a monster draw in the United Kingdom right now, which might provide the bait and the significant money to lure Stevenson into a rematch, or lure Ward out of retirement. Usyk could come to the UK to fight Bellew, and Usyk versus Bellew would be a spectacular mega fight for both combatants, and a spectacular main event for British and European fight fans.
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