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Bellew celebrates after stopping Ilunga Makabu to win the WBC cruiserweight title at Goodison Park in May 2016 (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\nMy Sporting Life is The i Paper\u2019s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week, former world champion Tony Bellew gets real about the highs, lows and life after boxing.<\/p>\n
My dream was to play football for Everton<\/p>\n
But the fact is I\u2019ve got two left feet, so there was no chance of that. <\/p>\n
Goodison Park was all my dreams come true. I am the kid who lived his lifelong dream of winning the WBC belt at his home stadium. That was the goal all along.<\/p>\n
Bellew celebrates after stopping Ilunga Makabu to win the WBC cruiserweight title at Goodison Park in May 2016 (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\n
A lot of hard work, blood, sweat, tears, countless setbacks, you know, heartbreaks. But it all came good on the night, thankfully. If it hadn\u2019t happened, I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019d still be fighting today.<\/p>\n
I was expelled from school at 15<\/p>\n
I had no qualifications. I got into all sorts of trouble. I did things I didn\u2019t really want to do to make money. <\/p>\n
But I thought I\u2019d made it after winning my first ABA title. I beat the reigning champion. His name was Mick O\u2019Connell, and he fought for the Marines.<\/p>\n
From that moment, I took everything seriously. I started to prepare diligently. At that stage in my life, I knew I was going to make a career out of this.<\/p>\n
I suffered the worst injury of my life at Soccer Aid<\/p>\n
I snapped my Achilles tendon. That\u2019s the worst I\u2019ve ever had. The pain was unimaginable.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve broken both hands on multiple occasions. But for me, the two worst injuries have come from playing football. I also snapped the ligaments across the top of my foot.<\/p>\n
Breaking my hands and stuff like that, I fought five times with a fractured or broken hand, and that happened every single time in a fight, it never happened to me in the gym.<\/p>\n
Oleksandr Usyk was my toughest opponent by far<\/p>\n
![\"Bellew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_309666784.jpg\")
Bellew put up a brave effort against Oleksandr Usyk before being stopped in the eighth round in November 2018 (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never faced anyone as good as him. He was the best. I have nothing but admiration for him, because I was coming off the best win of my career over David Haye<\/a>.<\/p>\n His judgement of distance was second to none. His front foot was never more than five or six inches away from my front foot. For him to take that away from me was so hard.<\/p>\n When I walked out, the last thing I remember thinking was I\u2019m out of my depth here, and he\u2019s the only person who made me feel like that.<\/p>\n Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury has to happen next<\/p>\n The biggest British fight of all time should happen in the UK. Simple. I don\u2019t see why it can\u2019t.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019d be far better for the country for a whole if they fight here.<\/p>\n And if they\u2019re saying it can\u2019t happen at Wembley because of time restrictions, stick it in the Millennium.<\/p>\n AJ can knock out Fury<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always backed Joshua to beat him. When Joshua lets his hands go, he can beat anyone. It\u2019s a really good fight. <\/p>\n He\u2019s the biggest punching heavyweight in the world, probably second to Deontay Wilder<\/a>. But that ain\u2019t Wilder I\u2019ve seen in the ring the last couple of times, so I don\u2019t count him. He\u2019s shot to bits.<\/p>\n I\u2019d beat Wilder now if I came back and I ain\u2019t fought for eight years, and that\u2019s saying something. I\u2019d spank him in a couple of rounds.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not a flashy guy<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t got a Rolls-Royce, my dream car, which I\u2019ve always wanted. I\u2019ve been very fortunate to have good people around me. I\u2019m trying to set an example to my kids. <\/p>\n My advice to youngsters would be pay your taxes, which I\u2019ve always done. It sounds a bit boring, but it\u2019s not. I\u2019m just a normal kid from Liverpool<\/a>.<\/p>\n We live in a beautiful house. My house is worth an absolute fortune. I look to invest 50 per cent of my earnings, I look to spend 30 per cent and I put 20 per cent into things that come with a bit of risk.<\/p>\n Nigel Farage is a fraud<\/p>\n He was very nice to me in the Jungle, but then completely ignored me the minute we got out.<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t crossed paths with him since. He\u2019s not my kind of person. He\u2019s a politician, which basically means he\u2019s a liar.<\/p>\n So yeah, I just take people as I find them. He\u2019s not very straight. Not my cup of tea.<\/p>\n I love Andy Burnham \u2013 I\u2019m backing him to do well<\/p>\n I\u2019ve met him loads of times at matches over the years. I like Burnham. He\u2019s a good man, mate.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve had good chats. He\u2019s a really nice guy. He\u2019s got a good heart, which is something that very few politicians actually have.<\/p>\n Of course, it makes it even better that he\u2019s a mad Bluenose like me!<\/p>\n![\"Stratford,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_309565691.jpg\")
Photographed here on pundit duty at the Copper Box Arena in May 2025 for Dave Allen\u2019s rematch with Johnny Fisher (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\n