Booth, Moore, Nelson, Barker, Smith and Coldwell assess chances
Saturday 15 October 2016 09:16, UK
BJ Flores has long chased a fight with Tony Bellew and he finally has his wish, but what chance does he have of winning?
The pair will battle for Bellew's WBC cruiserweight world title at Liverpool's Echo Arena on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, and Flores has vowed to stop 'Bomber' and steal his belt.
David Haye has already told fans to put their money on Flores, but what do our panel of experts think of the brash American and what chance do they give him?
Flores' main attribute is his toughness and how well he takes a shot. The fact he has never been stopped gives him a chance but that's about it. I just think Bellew in front of his home fans, he has the momentum, confidence and everything is on his side. It will take someone special to beat him, and BJ Flores isn't that man.
It will be an entertaining fight because of Flores' toughness and ability to take a good shot, but the class is there with Tony and he will be the first man to stop Flores. I think Flores knows deep down that Bellew is a class above.
This is my old division so I am looking at it through cruiserweight eyes and already, Flores looks like a light-heavyweight to me. Even if he trained full-on, was in great shape, I'd just look at him and think 'there's no way you beat me, little man' and I think Bellew's thinking exactly the same.
I actually like Flores but I just can't see him causing Bellew a problem. He is a tall, strong, skilled cruiserweight. His jab, his height and reach are different class so I am leaning towards Bellew - heavily. He'll stop him early in the second half of the fight.
I think a lot of it depends on how prepared BJ is physically and only he knows that. If he has prepared fully and is in good shape then it is a lot closer fight than people think. Much, much closer. Flores was the sparring partner who cut David Haye before his first world title defence against John Ruiz, so it was good sparring that's for sure.
We know Tony will lift himself into good shape and is as motivated as anyone and will keep going, keep fighting and ultimately I think that desire, that determination that raw guts and hardness will mean Bellew pulls away in the late part of the fight. Points seem more likely, but it could even be a late stoppage.
If I'm honest, when I saw him at the press conference on Monday, Flores looked like he was already beaten. He was a different fighter to the one that called him out and talked about game plans. He was just much quieter and I think you could see the fear straight away.
He probably thought he was much bigger up against Bellew but he is more of a light-heavyweight and I think it's all dawned on him. He is a strong lad on the inside but he hasn't got the power to trouble Bellew early on. We know anything can happen in boxing but I can see Bellew really putting on a show on Saturday night, winning via a mid-to-late stoppage.
Flores has got a chance but only a very small one. We know styles make fights and I've got to say Flores is tailor-made for Bellew. On top of that, we clearly saw Bellew doesn't like him at all and I just think we are going to see the champion put on a cracking performance.
Down the years, we have seen fighters reach the pinnacle of their career by winning the world title, but then they kick on and I think we are going to see that with Tony. He is a big puncher and a massive cruiserweight as well and even the head-to-head showed just what Flores is in against. Bellew is going to win and win in style, in six rounds.
One thing we must understand is that Flores is an underrated fighter, he has a very good jab and boxing brain, while he throws a powerful right and left hook. The history of boxing is littered with upsets and Flores has a chance to cause one himself, that's the beauty of sport.
The thing with BJ, he is in the same position that we were in before Makabu, coming off a couple of failed world title shots and this is his last attempt, he's an underdog like we were and has got to put it all on the line.
Watch Tony Bellew defend his WBC cruiserweight world title against BJ Flores live on Saturday night, from 8.00pm, on Sky Sports 2.
