Tony Bellew earned the biggest payday of his career last weekend with his victory over David Haye.
But Bellew’s purse was still significantly less than that of ‘The Hayemaker’, who is believed to have pocketed a cool £4.2m for his late defeat to his British rival.
Haye was up on most scorecards when the midway point of the grudge match arrived, before he sustained an unfortunate injury to his Achilles tendon and the remainder of the bout was a struggle for him to remain on his feet, let alone generate power.
In the 11th round, Haye’s corner had seen enough and tossed the towel into the ring which signalled the end of one of the biggest British bouts in years.
https://twitter.com/FancyCombat/status/838170082366861312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to the Mirror, Bellew picked up £2.8m for his upset of the former world heavyweight and cruiserweight champion.
It was far and away the 34-year-old’s most lucrative fight to date and he is contemplating hanging up his gloves off the back of it.
Was Saturday night his swansong? https://t.co/2Ba7EB301i
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 6, 2017
“I don’t know how many times more I can put my body and family through this,” Bellew told BBC Radio 5 live on Monday before revealing that “it [retirement] is an option. It’s something I’m thinking about.”
But, if he decides to hang around for another bout or two, Bellew is perfectly positioned to take advantage of his new-found exposure at heavyweight as world championship fights opposite either WBC champion Deontay Wilder or WBO champ Joe Parker remain possibilities, both of which could see ‘Bomber’ eclipse his payday from Saturday night.
And while Haye made more than his foe, his purse still paled in comparison to the monster pay cheques of his prime.
Haye made over £10m in his defeat to Wladimir Klitschko in 2011 while the Londoner’s bank balance was boosted by £5m after his demolition of Audley Harrison a year earlier.
