November 30th marks a big day for Tony Bellew, as he gets his second shot at a becoming a world champion. The Liverpudlian with face-off against Canadian heavy-hitter Adonis Stevenson in a highly anticipation match-up.
Bellew aged 30 will head into the fight with an impressive record of 20 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw. His 1 loss came at the hands of the then champion and fellow Brit Nathan Cleverly in very competitive bout inĀ 2011.
Since Bellew fought Cleverly, he has improved significantly as a fighter and looks set to leave it all the ring come fight night. Bellew is a determined, highly confident boxer who would rather go out on his shield than go out wondering what might have happened.
Bellew has fought the elusive Issac Chilemba twice this year coming out with 1 win and 1 draw. Personally I believe that Bellew won both fights against a truly awkward competitor and more than deserves his shot at the title.
Stevenson aged 36 also has a highly impressive record of 22 wins and 1 loss. The presence of 19 knock outs on his record highlights his lethal punching power and his ability to end a match in an instant as Chad Dawson can testify to. Stevenson captured the WBC light heavyweight title earlier this year with a vicious shot in the first round. Dawson was in no state to continue and Stevenson upset the odds in the most emphatic of fashions.
Last time out Stevenson beat former IBF champ Tavoris Cloud and showed that he has more than just power as he out-boxed Cloud before finishing the deal within the 12 rounds. It was an impressive display from a man who had many questions marks over him. Many believed that he was lacking in some technical ability and that he relied on his power but he proved the critics wrong in a fine display.
Bellew at 6ft 2.5 will come into the fight with a significant height advantage over the 5ft 11 Stevenson and should perhaps look to use his boxing skills to keep the fight at distance. This will not happen though as both men are gritty, rugged fighters who love to engage. There is no way that Bellew at some time will not stand and trade.
Bellew himself is a heavy hitter and will believe that he has the power to knock out Stevenson and vice versa. It is going to make forĀ a really interesting and entertaining fight between two men who possess real punch power.
The fight hasnāt received as much coverage over in the UK with the pending domestic dust-up between super middleweights CarlĀ Froch and George Groves on the 23rd but the fight really does deserve a good build up.
Stevenson will head into the fight as the likely favorite as the champion but it is difficult to pick a winner. Bellew is the type of guy who pulls off surprises and gets the job done even when the going gets tough.
I just get a feeling that Bellew is going to edge this fight. I canāt put my finger on it but I have a gut feeling. He seems so pumped up for this fight and the time seems right for him to achieve his goal and become a world champ.
This will be a cracking fight and I cannot wait for fight night. Adonis Stevenson v Tony Bellew the brutes go to battle!