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As Tony Bellew gets ready for what he claims will be the last fight of his career — win or lose — he says he’s fully aware of what he’s going up against in undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
In fact, because Bellew will enter the fight as the underdog, he feels that it alleviates all the pressure on him to perform because the expectation bar will be set low, much like it was in his two fights against David Haye.
“This is the ultimate test for me,” said Bellew. “There is no greater test than Oleksandr Usyk, he is one of the most feared men in boxing.”
“Make no mistake, I know this is the most dangerous fight of my life but I’m also going into this with my eyes wide open. I’m not in awe of Usyk, I won’t stand and admire him and allow him to rattle off five-punch combinations on my head.”
“I’m going into this fight with absolutely nothing to lose because the whole World thinks I’m going to get smashed.”
Bellew aims to leverage his experience taking on bigger and more powerful opponents in this bout with Usyk, and plans to fight with a clear conscience knowing that he has everything to gain and nothing to lose in this outing.
Should Bellew lose it will have been the generally expected outcome, thus no big deal. But if Bellew wins it would be a great legacy booster, walking away from the sport as the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world.
What shot are you realistically giving Bellew to pull off the upset in this one?