Hammered by Stevenson, completely overpowered, says after the fight he now wants to move up a weight. I know **** all about boxing - can someone explain that to me please?
Just watched it myself, totally out powered, out fought and out boxed. I'd be stepping down a division and regrouping
Just watched the fight but didn't listen to the aftermath. If he's been cutting weight to make light heavy, in theory he could be stronger at cruiserweight, where he doesn't have to cut (as much) weight.
Stevenson has surprised a few people with his boxing ability in his last couple of outings. Losing to a pretty good champion with loads of power, doesn't make Bellew ****, it just means he's not as good as a Stevenson or (probably) a Kovalev; he's just a monster.
Having to lose weight and fight at a weight that is unnatural to you can effect your power and stamina. Even if you put some of it back on after the weigh-in it can affect you. I don't know if this was the case with Bellew but it's plausible if it was a factor.
Obviously struggles to meet the weight so it affects his power and stamina. Moving up a weight means fighting at a more natural weight so there is no boiling down with the negative effect that has on you.
Hardly a surprise really Tony Bellew was Stephenson's mandatory, which in this day and age can sometimes mean very little. Stephenson has been kocking out Chad Dawson and Tavoris Cloud, whilst Bellew has looked awful twice in struggles against a nobody called Chilemba (or something like that). Never expected him to have a chance. Bellew wasn't even on the same level as Cleverley, who despite being a world champion wasn't fighting world class opposition until he stepped up to face Kovalev. Kovalev and Stephenson are beasts. Don't fancy Bellew's chances at moving up a weight, he's always looked lanky to me rather than strong for his weight division, and it's a big jump of about 20lbs I think.
