Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
On Saturday, October 15, 2016, Tony Bellew (27-2-1, 18 KOs) scored a third-round KO victory against BJ Flores (32-3-1, 20 KOs) to successfully defend his WBC Cruiserweight title at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
The scheduled 12-round fight headlined a night of action that was televised on Sky Sports in the U.K. from a card that was promoted by Matchroom Boxing.
After a slow start in which both men gauged each other for ring supremacy, Bellew, a 33-year-old native of the U.K., accidentally landed a low blow on Flores, a 37-year-old native of the United States.
It looked like Bellew was trying to land a left hook, but it was a low blow nonetheless and one that the referee did not see.
Flores began to protest to the referee, but instead of protecting himself as he protested, he left himself very open.
Then, Bellew landed a short right hook followed by a short left hook that dropped Flores. Bellew went for the kill and dropped Flores two more times before the round would end.
In the following round as both men exchanged in the center of the ring, Bellew landed a right hook to the body followed by a left hook upstairs that dropped Bellew for a fourth time.
Flores would not make the 10-count.
Tony Bellew jumps out of the ring to confront David Haye #WWE Style | #RBRBoxing Results https://t.co/a9Z9XTFwYv pic.twitter.com/fC2EZh43dB
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) October 15, 2016
Immediately after scoring the stoppage victory, Bellew hopped out of the ring to confront veteran David Haye, with whom he had been sharing harsh words recently.
In his post-fight interview, Bellew taunted Haye and challenged him to a fight, though Haye said he would only do it at Heavyweight.
Promoter Eddie Hearn also said that he’d be willing to make the fight if there is a demand for it.
What do you think of Bellew’s performance? Does he have a chance against Haye?
Check out the full fight below, along with the post-fight interview:
