Bellew bows out with Usyk defeat

TRACKFACTS CHELMSFORD CITY: Left-Handed polytrack all-weather course. TOP TRACK TRAINERS WITH RUNNERS: (2013-2018): M Johnston 57-363, S bin Suroor 44-142, S C Williams 39-259, M Appleby 38-381, M Botti 36-267. TOP TRACK JOCKEYS WITH RIDES: (2013-2018): L Morris 79-733, A Kirby 55-327, James Doyle 33-131, Franny Norton 29-219, R Havlin 29-188. LONGEST TRAVELLER: Flying Tiger (5.45) trained at South Molton. Round trip of 522 miles. FAVOURITES: (2013-2018): 612 have won out of 1840 races (33.3%). At the previous corresponding meetings, no winners out of 0 races.

5-1 Chased winner throughout, ridden inside final 2f, kept on same pace, no chance with winner, 2nd of 8, 6l behind Oscar’s Ridge at Chelmsford City 1m 2f mdn stks (5) pol in Oct.

33-1 Led 1f, tracked leader, ridden to lead again 2f out, ridden and headed entering final furlong, not pace of winner, 2nd of 6, 2 3/4l behind Salute The Soldier at Kempton 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol. 11-2 Close up, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1fout, last of 12, 20l behind Dragons Voice at Sandown 1m hcp 0-85 (4) gd in Sep. 7-1 Raced keenly tracking leaders, ridden over 1f out, 4th and no impression inside final furlong, 4th of 11, 3 1/2l behind Twenty Times at Newbury 1m 2f flls hcp 0-85 (4) gs in Oct. 8-1 Held up towards rear, pushed along over 2f out, headway on outside over 1f out, plugged on late, no danger, 5th of 10, 4l behind Monoxide at Chelmsford City 1m 2f (4) pol. 14-1 Mid-division, ridden over 2f out, weakened over 1f out, last of 9, 19l behind Lyrica’s Lion at Nottingham 1m 2f hcp (3) gd in Oct. 11-1 Close up, ridden and weakened over 2f out, tailed off, 11th of 12, 49l behind Macaque at Goodwood 1m hcp 0-85 (4) sft in Oct. 14-1 Raced wide tracked leader, ridden 2f out, weakened final furlong, 8th of 11, 6l behind Salute The Soldier at Chelmsford City 7f hcp 0-80 (4) pol in Oct.

16-1 Mid-division, outpaced over 2f out, soon behind, weakened over 1f out, last of 11, 28l behind Charlie D at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcp 0-85 (4) in Oct. TONY Bellew ended his boxing career with no regrets and now wants to fade into obscurity after defeat to undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Bellew had the opportunity to become the first Briton to simultaneously clinch all four major world titles in a weight class – plus the prestigious Ring Magazine belt – on his career swansong at a raucous Manchester Arena.

Despite being a considerable underdog with the bookmakers, the 35-year-old made an encouraging start against a fighter widely regarded as among the finest in any division on the planet.

But there was to be no fairy tale finish for the brave Bellew, who was put down with a crisp right jab, left hook combination before referee Terry O’Connor waved the fight over two minutes into the eighth round.

An emotional but magnanimous Bellew said: “I just tried to take that one final step and, you know what, I wasn’t good enough but I’ll be able to live with that forever.

“If I wouldn’t have taken this fight, that would have killed me because I would have always been ‘was I good enough?’ The fact of the matter is I just wasn’t, he’s better than me. Part of me feels like I’ve failed again but it’s boxing at the highest level so you’ve got to accept you can’t always win.

“If I’m being honest I got tired for the first time in my entire career. I don’t know why or how it happened but I just got tired. He’s brilliant, I have no bad words to say about Oleksandr, I only wish him well.

“I went out against the best cruiserweight and he can lay claim to being the greatest cruiserweight of all time.

“No excuses, I gave it everything I had, I couldn’t have prepared any better. My career is over. I’ve been doing this for 20 years.”

Bellew (30-3-1, 20KOs) waxed lyrical about a number of topics at his closing address to the media, thanking his family as well as promoter Eddie Hearn and trainer Dave Coldwell for rejuvenating his career.

The Liverpudlian won belts at British, Commonwealth and European level before his own personal highlight at Goodison Park in May 2016, when he claimed the vacant WBC cruiserweight title by stopping the feared Ilunga Makabu.

He stepped up to heavyweight to challenge British rival David Haye in two lucrative showdowns before dropping back down to the 200lb weight limit after being called out by the unbeaten Usyk.

Bellew, sporting welts under both eyes, said: “I’ve achieved all my wildest dreams. I sit here as a loser and I feel heartbroken but I’ve won in life. When I was expelled from school I had nothing and nowhere to go.”

As for the future, Bellew was at pains to stress he wants to step away from the limelight.

“The only thing to say is: I just want to disappear. I’ve never wanted anything more than to be just a normal man,” he added.