Tony Bellew only has one regret from his fight with David Haye, and he’s still not a fan of his opponent.
Bellew secured a dramatic upset win over Haye back in March at the O2 Arena in London, stopping him in the 11th round.
The Liverpudlian was the underdog going into the fight, his first at heavyweight, but managed to upset the odds and beat Haye, who suffered an Achilles injury in the sixth round, but bravely fought on.
The pair engaged in a war of words before the bout, which went beyond the standard trash talk that accompanies most pay-per-view fights.
Bellew has reignited the war of words with Haye… https://t.co/WQYesUfvhS
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 9, 2017
Haye threatened to leave Bellew in hospital, and was fined £25,000 for his remarks by the British Boxing Board of Control, and Bellew was warned about his future conduct.
Bellew called Haye “an absolute scumbag” for his comments and the pair genuinely didn’t seem to be on friendly terms.
Given their strained relationship, many were surprised to see them be respectful of each other immediately following the bout. Bellew has explained why he hugged his opponent and claims he now regrets doing so.
Bellew would enjoy a significant size advantage https://t.co/xnobnYk0Ol
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) June 21, 2017
“I’m still disgusted by his comments and I regret embracing him at the end,” Bellew said during an interview with the Daily Mail.
“But I embraced him because, you have to remember, this man had just helped secure my children’s future and that’s the first thing that went through my mind after I beat him. I didn’t think about what he’d said or what he’d done. If I thought back to what he’d said, I’d have probably hit him again. I still think he’s a cast iron asshole. I don’t think he’s a nice fella but it took two of us to get it right.”
Eddie Hearn, Bellew’s promoter, spoke recently about a potential bout between the Liverpudlian and American Andre Ward. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him eventually step back into the ring with Haye, who is still recovering from the Achilles injury he suffered during their fight in March.
