David Haye’s ability to last into the 11th round last weekend was close to miraculous.
But the man who eventually stopped him, Tony Bellew, knew much earlier than that that victory was his.
In one of the most animosity-fuelled bouts in years, an unfortunate Achilles injury to Haye ultimately decided the outcome and the sight of a towel from Haye’s corner brought an end to proceedings.
However Bellew has since admitted that it was long before his rival’s initial stumble that he was convinced that his hand would be raised.
The WBC cruiserweight champion was well aware that he would have to weather the early Haye storm and allow the larger man’s muscles to tire so that Bellew could take advantage in the latter rounds.
And ‘Bomber’ has revealed that he knew in the first round that he had the beating of ‘The Hayemaker’.
“I said to him ‘you’re blowing, you’re blowing boy’ because I knew he had hit me with his best, he’s disheartened and I’ve got a little cut on my head, it was just a scratch,” Bellew told Soccer AM.
“I said to him ‘you’re blowing boy’ and I knew from the end of the fourth round that I had him, even in the first round in my mind I’d won the fight in the first round.
“We got into an early exchange and I hit him with a left hook on the temple, and I’ve always said this – I’m not somebody that needs to hit you bang on the chin to hurt you, I can hit you anywhere and hurt you.
“I hit him on the top of the head and he kind of bounced back like a cartoon character, I’d say like Sideshow Bob, but he just sprung back with shock. It was at that moment in time that I knew I got his respect and he knew he was in for a fight in that very first exchange and from there on in it was just about executing the game plan.”
