The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
No regrets as Bellew ends boxing career
Defeated Briton calls it a day after bout against ‘greatest of all time’
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 fairytale finish for the brave Bellew, who was put down with a crisp right jab, left hook combination before referee Terry O’connor waved the count two minutes into the eighth round.
An emotional but magnanimous Bellew said afterwards: “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 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 his eyes, said: “I’ve achieved all my wildest dreams.
“My three boys are multi-millionaires and I’ve earned every single penny by punching people in the face. I never dreamed this would ever be possible.
“Ultimately I can’t thank my team enough.”