Eyes on the Prize for Bellew, but First….

The rematch is on Tony Bellew v Ovill McKenzie. Light heavyweight Commonwealth champion Tony Bellew is once again ready for war but it is not Ovill Mckenzie on his mind. After Jurgen Brahmer pulled out of the WBO showdown with Welsh wizard Nathan Cleverley and stripped of his title, the door to the world stage opened for Bellew. It seemed the dream was about to come true for Bellew, however the boxing gods had other ideas. Unable to make the weight despite losing a stone in 24 hours seen Bellews title hopes disappear “the darkest 36 hours of my life“.

The first encounter between Bellew and Mckenzie was certainly eventful. Tony was down in the 2^nd round after a thunderous right from Ovill which on any other night against any other opponent would of seen the fight stopped there and then. Much to Bellew’s credit and fighting spirit he picked himself and recorded an 8^th round stoppage win. Tony will be well aware of McKenzie’s abilities to strike and strike hard but Tony claims he’s taken his best punches and walked through them.

Ovill McKenzie claimed Bellew was on drugs after the first fight simply due to Tony’s endurance. The chance to fight Cleverley still lives large in the memory of Bellew and is still out for Clev’s blood. A good performance against McKenzie would certainly do no harm into putting his name at the top of the pecking order for a shot at Cleverley and after the media attention from their heated press conference this potential fight would surely excite the British Boxing fans.