Tony’s cruise control

TONY BELLEW wants to face new cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk.

The silky-skilled Ukrainian became only the second-ever cruiserweight after Evander Holyfield to be crowned undisputed champion when he outpointed Russian Murat Gassiev in Moscow on Saturday.

Usyk, 31, won every round with a punch-perfect display to add the WBA and IBF belts to his WBO and WBC titles.

He also pocketed around £6m and the inaugural Muhammad Ali Trophy for winning the World Boxing Super Series.

Usyk said: “I heard that Tony Bellew wants to fight the winner of the Muhammad Ali Trophy.

“I hope he sees me talking. Hey, Tony Bellew, are you ready?”

Bellew said: “Usyk, I was born ready. Let’s get this done.”

The Liverpool fighter’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is confident of agreeing a deal for the pair to meet later this year.

But Usyk will demand a hefty fee to come to the UK after earning huge money in the WBSS tournament.

Bellew’s pay packets have also grown following back-to-back wins over David Haye on pay-per-view.

The Scouser never lost the WBC cruiserweight belt in the ring after he beat Ilunga Makabu for the title at Goodison Park in 2016.

He defended it against BJ Flores before moving up to face Haye at heavyweight.

Usyk is happy to move up in weight if Bellew, who is also interested in a fight with former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, does not want to come back down to cruiser. Usyk added: “I will eat extra spaghetti for dinner.”

Meanwhile, Liam Smith came up short against Mexican Jaime Munguia in Las Vegas in the early hours of yesterday.

Smith was the first Liverpool fighter to headline a Vegas card.

But after starting well, the bighitting WBO light-middleweight champion floored him in the sixth with a huge left hook.

Smith battled back but was well beaten in the end, losing a unanimous points decision 116-111, 119110 and 119-108.

“I was always looking for the knockout, but he’s a tough opponent,” said the 21-year-old champion.