Tony Bellew is Willing to Fight Jake Paul for the Right Price
The list of people who would like to see Jake Paul find an opponent other than Mike Tyson for a Nov. 15 bout at A&T Stadium is growing. There is little doubt that the event will be the talk of online boxing news. But it still seems like an iffy idea to pit one of the most notorious heavyweights of all time, who retired from serious competition over 20 years ago, against Paul.
While Paul started as a social media star, he has trained hard in boxing and is largely competent in the ring. Paul has mostly fought former MMA stars, but former boxers are now stepping forward to put their hat in the ring. Tony Bellew, a British fighter and former WBC cruiserweight champion, has said he would fight Paul.
While trying to play it coy, Bellew has said he isn’t interested in fighting Paul … unless the price is right. The fight with Tyson will likely proceed, thanks to the box-office interest, and Paul will likely have a few more opponents lined up. Would Bellew be in the conversation?
Who is Tony Bellew?
One of the major stumbling blocks for Bellew would be, could you sell him to an American audience? Bellew hasn’t fought since he was knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk in November 2018. Bellew had a productive professional boxing career.
He was 30-3-1 as a professional and was on a 10-fight winning streak before the loss to Usyk. Bellew, 41, never quite broke through on the world stage. After Bellew opened his career with 16 straight wins, he earned an opportunity to fight Nathan Cleverly for the WBO light heavyweight by majority decision in October 2011.
He also challenged Adonis Stevenson for the WBC light heavyweight title in November 2013, but lost in the sixth round via TKO.
Paul Could Use a Win over a Boxer
Paul’s career turn is still surprising. When Paul had his first professional boxing fight, the latest boxing online news shows he fought another YouTuber before turning his sights on former NBA star Nate Robinson. It would have been hard to anticipate the list of opponents he would move on to.
Paul has fought former UFC standouts Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, and Tyron Woodley, along with former Bellator champion Ben Askren. Paul’s most recent fight came against BKFC standout Mike Perry.
Paul was able to put on the pressure and knock out the much lighter Perry in the sixth round. Since Paul lost to Tommy Fury, he has now rolled off four straight wins to improve to 10-1.
What Happened to the First Tyson Fight?
Paul and Tyson were originally scheduled to fight in July. However, Tyson had to pull out of the fight with an illness. People looking at boxing news & results will see that Tyson, 58, hasn’t had a serious fight since he retired on his stool after losing to Kevin McBride in 2005.
Tyson did have an exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr a few years ago. But that didn’t count against his professional record.
There was a time when it was impossible to avoid Tyson’s dominance. He was the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990. However, Tyson’s life slowly descended into madness.
Legal troubles and drug use sapped Tyson of his dominance.Tyson’s aura was shattered in February 1990 when he was knocked out in the 10th round by Buster Douglas. Tyson would then lose three years of his prime after being convicted of rape in 1992.
Tyson was never the same when he returned to the ring in 1995. He had two memorable fights with Evander Holyfield, but the second contest is more famously known for ending when Tyson bit off a chunk of Holyfield’s ear.
Is Interest Fading in High-Profile “Exhibition” Type Boxing Matches?
Many older fighters have stepped back into the ring to have exhibition or professional fights since Paul started promoting these bouts heavily. While some of them are sanctioned to count as professional fights, many observers treat them more like sideshows or exhibitions. The big fear for Paul and Tyson is that Tyson will get hurt.
When Evander Holyfield came back on short notice to fight Vitor Belfort a few years ago, Holyfield was knocked out in vicious fashion in the first round. Tyson will want to avoid that fate.
But the number of rematches that have popped up is amazing. Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva renewed their old UFC rivalry in the boxing ring. Nate Diaz and Jorge Masivdal also settled an old MMA score in the ring. However, while Diaz and Masvidal sold out the venue for their fight, Diaz had to sue to try and get his promised purse.
Older fighters are looking for big paydays when these events happen, so when things happen like what happened to Diaz, it may make some of them reluctant to participate.
Bellew’s Bellowing
Bellew isn’t happy with the state of boxing today. But a recent interview says that he isn’t afraid to exploit the system to make money either. When it comes to Paul, that’s where Bellew falls.
“I’ve got no real hunger or desire to face Jake Paul if I’m being totally honest,” Bellew said. “Do I want to? No, not really. But would I? Yes. Everyone’s got a price.”
The question Bellew will need to figure out is how much money he could negotiate if he could set up a meeting. Paul’s team will likely be looking for a bigger swing of the money on their side. Bellew just doesn’t want to see Tyson push himself to fight for money when he has health issues.
Bellew respects the legend. He’s willing to step in and fight on his behalf if he can earn some money. Bellew doesn’t believe Paul can earn any respect from the community in the sport without fighting actual boxers.
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By Dean McHugh.
