Tony Bellew: I’d knock Stevenson out at cruiserweight

With Adonis Stevenson throwing out challenges to Tony Bellew for a catchweight fight, Bellew has responded, saying that he can’t go much lower than cruiserweight for any fight, but that he is intrigued by the idea.

From Sky Sports:

“It still haunts me to this day but he would never fight me at cruiserweight. I can’t go any lower than cruiserweight, it’s impossible and I am telling you now, if he did come close to cruiserweight I would put him to sleep. And I would put him asleep far quicker than he put me down. I wouldn’t mess around.”

But the weight is a concern, as Bellew has fought his last two bouts as a heavyweight, and Stevenson has stayed in the light heavyweight division since their first meeting, where Stevenson stopped Bellew.

“I’d probably say 195 pounds, five pounds under the cruiserweight limit, is the lowest I can go. He easily makes 175 pounds, so I think he’s talking about 185 to 190 pounds, which i just can’t do. We could if we did the re-hydration routine, but he’s just probably trying to have everything in his favour.”

Bellew has said it would take something “ridiculous” to get him back into the ring after back-to-back stoppages of David Haye. It sounds like he’s interested in facing Stevenson again, but not counting on the fight happening.