He may feel “heartbroken”, but Tony Bellew won’t need long to bounce back. How disconcerting it must be to be solely focused on one fight, only for momentum to be arrested like this. But a fighter pulling out through injury, like David Haye’s bicep injury forced to happen in this case, is hardly a first. Bellew though, won’t be short of offers to distract from his apparent heartbreak.
A Sunday night bout on December 17th, on the brink of Christmas, with revenge and unfinished business swirling with seasonal goodwill, made for a fight with the potential of a unique atmosphere and feeling. Now March or May of 2018 are two possibilities for a re-match. But simply; it just might never happen.
This will depend on how Haye recovers, although as an injury it should be straightforward. But of more relevance are the other distractions that are already starting to make their presence felt for Bellew.
Tyson Fury was quick to post a video on his Instagram account. Having had his own experience with Haye pulling out of fights through injury {twice}, he called out Bellew in typically direct fashion, “you want to fight a real man, you want to fight the best heavyweight in the world, the heavyweight that beat everybody else, the heavyweight that never lost a fight, the real heavyweight champion of the world. I'm ready and waiting.”
Fighting talk, as you would expect, and Fury mooted a meeting between himself and Bellew on May 5th in London. Tyson has looked sharp in his posts on social media in recent days in video efforts of his pad work. But with several stone to lose and a UK Anti-Doping hearing needed to green light such endeavours, it is by no means a given that such circumstances are practical.
On top of this, is the fact that despite being undefeated as a professional, Fury cannot simply pick up the mentality that he will need for such a fight. Warm-up fights, and not high-end sparring alone, may well be required to have his focus, technique and sharpness in the right place.
There did seem to be a quick-fix available to next months cancelled fight. British heavyweight Dillian Whyte, wasn’t slow to react to the news of Haye pulling out. Despite only fighting last month against Robert Helenius, Whyte wanted to grasp the window of opportunity with a firm grip. However, Whyte, whose only career loss has been to the unvanquished Anthony Joshua, was rejected in his proposal.
Whyte has called Haye a coward for the snub, but the reality was reflected in his own admission that he would not have had time to put in place a schedule and properly choreographed training camp. The necessary lead up would not have been one of balance, if training was rushed. Whyte may have seen an opportunity, but he will need to remain patient for his opportunity.
WBO champion Joseph Parker, is of the opposing frame of mind, to Whyte. The New Zealander was courteous, but pragmatic, when advising “With the greatest amount of respect to Tony Bellew, we have zero interest in stepping in at short notice and replacing the injured David Haye on December 17th.”
And he is probably correct too. So, what is the most likely scenario; if Whyte isn’t wanted, Parker isn’t interested, and Fury isn’t in the right place, yet?
Waiting around for Haye appears more of a secondary option. The perception of Haye, whether correct or not, is that there is now an unpredictability as to whether he will be fit to fight. He may well be. But alternatively, if Bellew were to sit back and wait into the new year, further delays or cancellations could be damaging to his own spirit.
Bellew though, could slip back into the cruiserweight division and take on one from a small pool of viable opponents. However, the one he would want the most, would be the opportunity to unify the division against Denis Lebedev. Lebedev, a Russian southpaw, currently holds the WBA title in the division. Bellew, is the WBC Emeritus Champion. What this means is that he can return from heavyweight at any time to contest the title.
A bout with Lebedev, would certainly be a high-calibre, winner takes all encounter that may not attract the hype of some of his other options. But it would be a contest of significant meaning.
