Tony Bellew has recalled a time when he threatened to ‘end’ 300lbs heavyweight Martin Bakole.
Bellew is a famously passionate man, and has been lifting the lid on his emotions in the build-up to his world title fight with Ilunga Makabu at Goodison Park, the home of Everton FC, back in 2016.
It was his first shot at the WBC Cruiserweight crown and came three years after he failed to wrestle the light-heavyweight belt from Adonis Stevenson.
After being knocked down in the first, Bellew won by stoppage in the third in front of his adoring fans.
Speaking on the A Dream Achieved podcast, he has said he had no real beef with Makabu pre-fight, but did nearly come to blows with his brother and heavyweight contender Bakole.
“I had an encounter with his brother in the Hilton hotel in the lobby.
He said something to me and I said why are you looking at me like you’re going to f***ing do something and he went ‘I’ll do whatever I want’ and I said well do it then you stupid big dope.
He said ‘do you know who I am? I’m a heavyweight’ and I said I’m a f***ing heavyweight right now too and I’ll f***ing put you out.”
Bellew’s men then stepped between the two to prevent any drama, but the fighter-turned-pundit says he was serious about the challenge.
“I wasn’t in the mood for anything. It was fight week and I thought ‘I’ll just f***ing end you.’ I respect Bakole to be fair.”
Bakole, who claimed recently that he stopped Oleksandr Usyk with a body shot in sparring, is currently vying for a big fight having recently knocked out Carlos Takam.