Bellew vs Chilemba results: Main event a draw, Mathews-Crolla II also scored even

Tony Bellew thought he had handily won the fight today in Liverpool, and the Sky Sports team felt the same. But observers watching on TV around the world saw at worst a much closer fight, and the ringside judges couldn't find a winner, either. Scores were 116-112 Chilemba, 116-115 Bellew, and 114-114. Sky's Jim Watt had it 116-113 Bellew, and BLH had it 115-113 Chilemba.

Bellew (19-1-1, 12 KO) started fast, but once Chilemba (20-1-2, 9 KO) got himself going, he was even with Bellew at worst, and often made Tony look lost and a bit desperate. Bellew, 30, looked good at times, and there's no doubt he's a solid contender in what is frankly a weak light heavyweight class, but he had plenty of trouble with the 25-year-old Chilemba, who proved his own quality as a contender.

The fight was a bit of a disappointment in terms of action, but not unwatchable or anything like that. Expect plenty of moaning from the Bellew side, which I guess is fair enough (squeaky wheels get the grease and all that), but the draw call was no controversy, at least from where I sit.

Undercard

Derry Mathews and Anthony Crolla fought a 50-50 fight for 12 rounds, and that's how the judges wound up seeing it, as the two ultimately went to a draw, leaving the Commonwealth lightweight title vacant. Scores were 115-115, and then a 115-113 card for each man. The draw is totally understandable, as the fight was terribly hard to score, particularly early. It wasn't nearly as good as their 2012 war, but it was a good, solid fight, and a third bout between the two wouldn't be unwelcome. Crolla is now 25-4-1 (9 KO), while Mathews is 32-8-2 (17 KO).

Rocky Fielding improved to 13-0 (7 KO) with a pretty dominant six-round stoppage of Wayne Reed (10-6, 5 KO). Also winning on the undercard were prospects Kal Yafai, James Dickens, Callum Smith, and Scott Cardle.