Tony Bellew is confident he will take the WBC title from ‘Superman’ Adonis Stevenson this weekend, labelling his Canadian light-heavyweight rival “just a little man with a huge punch”.
As Unibet boxing betting fans know, the fight in Quebec City represents Bellew’s second shot at a world belt. He will be desperate to avoid a repeat of his points defeat to WBO champion Nathan Cleverly in 2011.
Stevenson, whose punching power earned him his nickname, has won 22 of his 23 bouts, 19 by knockout. His only defeat came in April 2010 when he was stopped in the second round by Darnell Boone.
Bellew has used that fight as a source of inspiration ahead of his dual with Stevenson. He believes he is the 36-year-old’s Kryptonite.
“I am better than Darnell Boone. I am better than any fighter in the world who has won 20 and lost 20. That is a fact,” Bellew said.
“They hype Stevenson up to be the next coming of Mike Tyson but, the fact of the matter is, he is just a little man with a huge punch. I am going to defuse that punch and just turn him into a little man.”
The Liverpool-born fighter, who has suffered just one loss in his 22 fights, has described Saturday’s fight as “the biggest opportunity of my life” and said he could not put the magnitude of it into words.
Bellew is excited by the prospect of claiming The Ring magazine belt, in addition to the WBC title. He wants there to be no doubt he is the best fighter in the light-heavyweight division.
“The hype around Stevenson is huge in America. Everyone wants to see this big (Sergey) Kovalev-Stevenson fight happen, but they are not going to see it because I am going to turn this division on its head,” Bellew added.
