Former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has spoken of his rivalries as a fighter and his motivation to call out David Haye back in 2016.
After making the first defence of his world title, beating BJ Flores by third round knockout, Bellew spectacularly stormed over to former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion, Haye, and challenged him to a fight.
When the two Brits met each other in the ring, it was Bellew who came out on top on two occasions.
On the Winners Talking Podcast, Bellew was honest that money was the reason he instigated the fight.
“People think my rivalries are acted up or that I’ve played them to make money. I absolutely can’t stand Nathan Cleverly, if Nathan Cleverly was to walk into this building it’s on right now, I’m letting a right hand go. It’s on, I’m sorry, it’s just the way I am.”
“With David [Haye], I respected him and I admired him. When he announced the comeback and knocked out the two heavyweight guys, quite easily, at the O2, I was then like ‘he is the money, he is the f***ing money’.”
“Remember Red Dwarf? Remember H, the guy who had a ‘H’ on his forehead? Well David Haye had a pound sign, like ‘H’ had, to me. That’s how I looked at him. We always knew each other, I wouldn’t say friends but I respected him. “
Whilst many fans believe the Bellew-Haye rivalry was tarnished by injuries to the latter, they remain as some of ‘The Bomber’s’ best nights inside of the ring.
After the second Haye fight, Bellew moved back down in weight to challenge Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed cruiserweight championship, with the Ukrainian stopping the Brit in the 8th round of what was to be Bellew’s last outing.
