With the rivalry put to bed, retirement remains a very possible option for both Tony Bellew and David Haye.
Haye looked every bit the 37-year-old as he was dropped three times and finished in emphatic fashion by Bellew in the pair’s grudge rematch on Saturday night.
The boxing community is in no doubt that ‘The Hayemaker’ should hang up his gloves with his faculties intact because he looked a shell of his former self against Bellew.
The first exchange after ‘Bomber’ put his rival away in the fifth round saw the Liverpool fighter advise Haye to call it a day.
Congratulations to @TonyBellew – excellent performance 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Father Time comes to us all, but @mrdavidhaye can be proud that he came back to see what he had left – not many will EVER achieve what he did, so he can leave (if he chooses) PROUD #HayeBellew2 🙌🏾— Audley Harrison MBE (@audleyharrison) May 5, 2018
And while the former world heavyweight and cruiserweight champion refused to commit to a decision, he admitted that he’d review his performance before deciding whether or not he’d return.
“I didn’t feel great in there tonight. I’ll have to look at the tape and see what went wrong,” Haye said. “Tony boxed a great fight, showed some clever stuff in there, I couldn’t quite get off. He boxed very well, I didn’t.”
Following the biggest performance of his career to date, many expected Bellew to avail of one of the several opportunities that have presented themselves to the 35-year-old.
Bellew had some advice for the official https://t.co/1e9GSl9Jf9
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) May 6, 2018
Bellew did suggest potential opponents such as Tyson Fury, Andre Ward and Oleksandr Usyk when asked who he wanted next but, once the dust settled on his victory, he admitted that he would have no problem retiring after what he’s accomplished.
“It will take something absolutely ridiculous to make me do it again,” Bellew told Sky Sports News on Sunday.
“Something huge. It would have to be massive because I’m happy with what I’ve done. I’ve proven everyone wrong.
“I’ve been the biggest dreamer for my whole life – I said I’d fight at Goodison Park, I said I’d be amateur champion after two fights. But it’s another thing to really believe it. I stuck by my dream and it’s got me to here.”
