Repeat or revenge was the question and Tony Bellew answered emphatically.
427 days after a ruptured Achilles tendon gave Bellew an unexpected victory over David Haye, ‘Bomber’ proved that last year’s win was no fluke as he stopped his fierce rival twice as quickly.
Bellew needed just five rounds to stop ‘The Hayemaker’ on Saturday night as he employed the perfect strategy to make Haye look years past his best.
Haye was loading up early, looking to send a message with a return to the quick knockouts with which he made his name, but Bellew was happy to take one to give one and spread his arms confidently in the second round as if to ask “is that all you’ve got?”
Haye was down twice in the third round, with no heel injury to point to, and that was the clear turning point in the contest.
Bellew, confident that he could take everything Haye had to offer, started showing off his power punches and it was too much for the Londoner in the fifth round as the fight was called off to save the 37-year-old from any unnecessary damage.
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“David Haye is an amazing fighter. Take nothing away,” Bellew said after the fight.
“He just got into a slugfest tonight and we hurt each other. I was hurt in that fight. He’s got crazy power.
“But I did say from the start that with his style, age does play a factor. Speed and timing decreases with age, power doesn’t.
“I take nothing away. He goes down a better fighter than me. He’s a legend of the sport.
“I’m just happy I won, against all the odds again.”
