Bellew vs Haye 2: Johnny Nelson will not be surprised if Tony Bellew retires after beating David Haye
Sunday 6 May 2018 12:21, UK
Johnny Nelson will not be surprised if Tony Bellew walks away from boxing after a brilliant repeat performance against David Haye...
Tony Bellew boxed brilliantly again but I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see him walk away now.
The last fight with David Haye was good but this was a step up. His confidence was sky high and we saw that, but we also saw how good he is and how underrated he is.
Tony Bellew can't improve on perfection and I think he has achieved it. If it was me, I would walk away. I would not be surprised if he does.
He is not just a brilliant boxer but a brilliant student of the game. He knows it inside out, mentally, physically and historically, and that goes beyond the repeat win over David Haye.
Bellew called it and he called right again. But now, after an even better performance and even bigger buzz from the way he did the job, I can understand what David Coldwell is talking about when he said he would be happy to see him retire on the back of this win.
It's not that he's not going to get better, but looking ahead already, it's difficult to see who he takes on next.
Tony Bellew stopped David Haye in the fifth round of their explosive rematch
He campaigned at light-heavyweight which wasn't for him, because he had to squeeze right down, and cruiserweight is clearly his division.
We know he's not going to win a world title at heavyweight and he's already done that as a cruiserweight, so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this is it.
He has already achieved a hell of a lot. Financially he is sorted and he will tell you his greatest night was at Goodison Park, but on top of that, who else is there for him to box?
Maybe Andre Ward would be the "megastar" he wants next and he mentioned Oleksandr Usyk or Murat Gassiev, once we know who the World Boxing Super Series champion is.
But does Bellew need to go and take them on? They are not the biggest draws in the world and they are both dangerous, especially for a guy who has spent the last two years as a heavyweight.
The bottom line is, even Tony Bellew can't improve on perfection and I think he has achieved it. If it was me, I would walk away. I would not be surprised if he does.
