Tony Bellew has disclosed that a sparring session knockdown caused a prominent British boxer to withdraw from a fight the next day.
Bellew, who proved himself a prospect before becoming a pro boxer, used to spar with professional boxers outside of his gym in Liverpool. One of his sparring partners was David Haye, who would later become his opponent in the ring but was then a cruiserweight prospect with an impressive record of 13 stoppages in 14 fights. Haye was coming off a loss to Carl Thompson, his only defeat, and was aiming to challenge for the British title.
During an interview on Up Front With Simon Jordan, Bellew revealed that he and David Price, outperformed Haye in the gym when they were amateurs.
"When I sparred him it was [2005], I’d just become ABA champion. He was looking for sparring partners, he came to Liverpool. He was fighting a guy called Mark Hobson – British cruiserweight champion. Me and David Price came in as sparring partners and, to be honest, we absolutely mullered him."
"The next day he pulled out and said he had a hamstring problem. I dropped him. And I don’t have a reason to claim [this], because I’ve stopped him twice when I’ve fought him. I dropped him that day … I said to David Price after that sparring session in [2005] ‘I’m gonna fight him one day."
Haye would eventually face Bellew in two professional fights, both of which he lost, plagued by injuries. The rivalry between the two was bitter, with harsh words exchanged. Bellew later moved down to cruiserweight to challenge the undisputed champion, Oleksandr Usyk, but was knocked out in the eighth round, ending his career and marking Usyk's move up to heavyweight.
Beatrice Adamu is a writer for AceTVBoxing.com. She can be reached on Twitter @oh_stillbella or via email: adamubeatrice13@gmail.com.
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