BELLEW STOPS HAYE IN ELEVEN

By Paul J Daley

WBC Cruiserweight Champion Tony “Bomber” Bellew stopped David Haye in eleventh round of their highly anticipated showdown at the o2 Arena in London on Saturday Night.

Bellew was the betting outsider going into the contest but turned the contest on it’s head following a suspected injury to Haye’s ankle which allowed Bellew to get through with the big shots that dropped Haye in the sixth.

Thereafter for the most part it was target practice for Bellew, going in search of a fight ending shot against the now hobbling Haye who sporadically threw the wild shot with a grimace from the obvious pain he was enduring.

Bellew looked to be running on empty as the rounds wore on with a sense that the added 11Ib of weight was taking it’s toll but from out of nowhere he found venom in the eleventh to drop Haye through the ropes following a hard hook, before the towel came in from trainer Shane McGuigan to signal an end to the bout, bringing the Liverpudlian support to their feet in appreciation for their man who did the unthinkable. 

Both men embraced afterwards putting an end to months of bad blood before each handed the other plaudits, Bellew going on to say “David I thank you from the bottom of my heart, because you could have picked a lot of other guys”

“It was genuine, I really wanted to beat him and he wanted to beat me, I have so much respect for him, who wants to see it again?”

Bringing Applaud from the now standing crowd which rose a few more octaves with suggestion that a return to his beloved Goodison Park may be on the cards.

“Tony was a great fighter, I felt great and trained great” said Haye without making excuse “This guy has the heart of a lion, I’ve knocked out guys a lot bigger and stronger but he has the heart of a lion”

“I would love to do it again, I have never been in a fight like that. If the fans want to see it again I would do it again. We’ll do it on his terms, In his town – He deserves it”