I won’t retire.. my missus wouldn’ t let me
Bellew’s looking for another payday after shock win over Haye earns him £3million
THERE was a touch of Edmund Hillary and Christopher Columbus about Tony Bellew as he held court in the early hours of yesterday.
He had climbed higher than he ever imagined and sailed further than he thought possible to conquer his Everest and discover a new world.
But while he felt he had achieved all his goals and more, he knew his promoter – as well as his fiancee – would be already planning a new adventure.
How the heavyweight bout may have developed had David Haye not been hampered by an ankle injury halfway through the contest that effectively left him fighting on one leg, we will never know.
But even though Bellew’s 11-round win was thanks largely to his opponent’s bust ankle, Eddie Hearn feels it shows he can win a world title.
Boxing’s Mr Fixit wants to pair him with the winner of WBO champ Joseph Parker’s defence against Hughie Fury on May 6 or WBC king Deontay Wilder.
Hearn said: “I believe Tony can win the world heavyweight title. I believe he can beat Parker. I also believe he can beat Wilder.
“Where Haye is in the world heavyweight rankings, this could have easily been a world title eliminator, so he’s earned a shot at the world heavyweight title.”
Bellew, 34, claims he could retire, which is what his trainer Dave Coldwell wants, and bank his career-best purse of around £3million.
But he joked his fiancee Rachael Roberts will tell him to fight again when she sees how big his next offer will be.
He said: “I’ve achieved what I got into boxing to do.
“I could walk away tomorrow happily but I know he’s going to make me some amazing offer I can’t walk away from.
“It’ll make my missus say ‘you’re going back in!’ And if you know my missus, you don’t cross her.”
Bellew could look no further than seeing his kids yesterday after sending them and Rachael to Dubai for the week to keep them away from “the circus” as he calls boxing.
This tough guy, whom Haye could not floor, welled up as he said: “I spoke to my 11-year-old on FaceTime before leaving the hotel and he said ‘just win and come home safe dad’.
“An 11-year-old kid shouldn’t be thinking like that but this is the business I’m in.”
Bellew claims he broke his right hand early on and the fight was finely balanced before the sixth round when Haye badly damaged his Achilles.
The crippled former WBA heavyweight king was an easy target for Bellew and he narrowly beat the count when he was floored towards the end of that round. Bellew absolutely battered Haye in the seventh but, hobbling round the ring on one leg, he bravely refused to go down.
The 36-year-old tried to land his trademark Hayemaker but with no right foot to anchor the punch, Bellew swallowed every shot before ending it in the 11th.
His rival was so exhausted he could barely stand and Bellew landed a right and a left hook to send him through the ropes.
Haye just about beat the count but referee Phil Edwards waved it off when trainer Shane McGuigan threw in the towel.
The pair embraced in the ring, a sporting end after the disgraceful trashtalking in the build-up. Haye was broken, Bellew jubilant.
The Scouser grinned: “There’s a new sheriff in town.” To Haye’s credit he refused to blame the injury for his loss, and said: “The ankle was just one of those things. The better man won on the night.”
Haye has now been urged to forget about a rematch with Bellew and hang up his gloves following a 15-year career that started at cruiserweight.
Promoter Hearn insisted: “David should retire. If he wants a rematch, we’ll look at a rematch but I think we’re looking in other directions now.”
Haye’s pal Carl Froch, who has known him since they were amateurs, also sees little point in him carrying on.
The former unified supermiddleweight champ said: “We need to see how serious his injury is but it looked bad and at his age, seeing him fighting again is one thing, but against a top-level heavyweight? I think we can forget it.
“It was a fantastic fight, it really was and although it could be the end of him, you’ve got to give David credit, because that was clearly a debilitating injury.”
Haye insists he can recover from the injury, which did not require surgery, and only the second stoppage of his career to face Bellew again.
He is prepared to face the Everton supporter at his beloved Goodison Park.
Haye said: “I would love to do it again, I have never been in a fight like that. “If the fans want to see it again I would do it again. We’ll do it on his terms, in his town – he deserves it. “I’ll get healthy and then, if he would oblige me, we can do it again.”