Tony Bellew’s emphatic
third round knockout of Illunga Makabu last night on Sunday saw him capture the
vacant WBC world title and become the UK’s thirteenth world champion. The fight
took place at Goodison Park, the home of Bellew’s beloved Everton Football Club
and having already lost his first two world title attempts this was last chance
saloon for the 33 year old Liverpudlian.
Makabu was slight
favourite going into the bout with many thinking that the southpaw would have
too much for the 26-2-1 fighter. With a KO ratio of 90%, Makabu’s power was
seen as being the key factor in the fight and this power was evident when he
had Bellew on the canvass with a straight left hand at the round one, the worst
possible start for the hometown fighter.
It looked as though
Bellew was going to be in for a long night however he managed to re-group in
the second round by boxing at range and keeping his distance from the far shorter
Makabu. This was thought to be the order of the day and it seemed to be a
question of when rather than if Makabu would land that left hand again.
However going into the
third round Bellew went onto the front foot, ignoring the instructions of Dave
Coldwell and the rest of his corner and in the process catching Makabu with a
beautifully timed left hook. Realising that Makabu was hurt by that shot,
Bellew went onto the front foot, throwing vicious combinations and the fight
was waved off when the Congolese fighter was out on his feet.
Bellew and his team rightly
went berserk however the celebrations were cut short with Bellew realising the
unconscious state of his opponent. Fortunately Makabu got to his stool a few
minutes later with Bellew making a really classy gesture by coming over and kneeling
by Makabu and offering some kind words.
However, fight fans
were soon brought back down to earth as Bellew was back to his usual antics in
the post-fight interview for Sky Sports, claiming that he was now the best
cruiserweight in the world to name just one of his ludicrous statements. Having
said this, one cannot criticise Bellew’s achievement. It really is a real life
Rocky story, getting up off the canvass to win at his beloved Everton Football
Club is the stuff dreams are made of.
Where does Bellew go
from here? He is part of the stacked cruiserweight division with the likes of
Grigory Drozd, Olesandr Usyk and Krzyszstof Glowacki to name a few which means
that it is difficult to have ‘soft touches’ with there being so many dangerous
fighters in the division. A unification fight with Denis Lebedev who is
currently the WBA and IBF champion and arguably the best in the division is
something that Bellew may look at, cashing in his WBC belt in the process.
For the time being however
Bellew should just enjoy the moment and let the realisation kick in that he has
won a world title not just in his hometown of Liverpool but at his home away
from home, Goodison Park. Credit must go to Eddie Hearn for managing to first
secure Bellew a title shot and then making the fight at Goodison Park a
reality. However the main praise should go to Bellew and his team for
delivering the goods and making it a night that will live long in the memory.
Tom Eckett
@boxingguru44
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