After becoming the WBC Cruiserweight champion, by defeating Ilunga Makabu at Everton Football Club on Sunday night, Tony Bellew called out David Haye in his in-the-ring post-fight interview with Sky Sports.
The Liverpool boxer told SkySports: “I’m the best cruiserweight in the World. Denis Lebedev (IBF + WBA ‘super’ champion), I ain’t coming to Russia – come and get this, baby. Cos I’ve got the main belt now, I’m the man to beat in this division. Come and get this (WBC belt). Or that bitch from Bermondsey (David Haye), I’ll fight him too! Come back down to your natural weight and fight a real cruiserweight cos you’ve gone on long enough fighting those clowns on that joke channel (Dave).”
Having returned to the ring this year, the ‘Hayemaker’ has quickly dispatched two foes at heavyweight – Mark de Mori and Arnold Gjergjaj on the freeview channel Dave. Earlier today, the former World Cruiserweight and WBA Heavyweight champion, David Haye sent a video out on his Instagram page. This is what he had to say:
“This is a message for Tony Bellew. First off, Congratulations on winning in front of your hometown, home fans and home football club. Blah, blah, blah. Congratulations you won the vacant WBC title, lifelong ambition realised – congratulations.”
“But amongst all the excitement, maybe that punch you took in the first round, that dropped you, your brain got scrambled cos it looks like you really want to get knocked out by calling me a “Bermondsey bitch”, talking about knocking me out. You must have lost your god damn mind!
“After I knock out Shannon Briggs, whose been giving it a lot of that (talk) himself. If you want to be on the list too, I’m knocking out all people talking too much, so get on the list – you’re gonna get smashed to bits.
“I used to be a cruiserweight, we are both the same height, similar size. Let’s do it if you want it.”
Both fighters seem more than up for a fight, so if a weight could be agreed I’m sure this has the potential to be a big PPV hit and a contest that will grip the boxing community. The major stumbling block could be the weight, as Haye weighed 224lbs in his last fight and the cruiserweight limit is 200lbs.
Read my fight report on Bellew vs Makabu here: Tony Bellew bombs out Ilunga Makabu at Everton FC
