Haye v Bellew: Epic win for Bellew over injured Haye

Saturday's boxing results from the O2

Click on each fight for a full report

Tony Bellew bt David Haye (TKO, rd 11)
Katie Taylor bt Monica Gentili (TKO rd 5)
Sam Eggington bt Paulie Malignaggi (KO rd8)
Ohara Davies def Derry Mathews (TKO rd 3)
Dave Allen bt David Howe (KO, rd 2)
Lee Selby bt Andoni Gago (TKO, rd 9) 

Haye v Bellew: Big fight report & reaction

Tony Bellew upset the odds to claim a thrilling victory over David Haye in their British heavyweight grudge match after the Londoner's corner threw in the towel during the 11th round on Saturday night.

Haye went into the bout at London's O2 Arena as 1/6 favourite but an ankle injury sustained during the sixth round caused him real problems to his mobility and Bellew took advantage.

The 36-year-old Londoner just about managed to beat the count after Bellew sent him to the canvas and had to show show tremendous character and resolve to fight on.

An exhausted Haye bravely lasted until the 11th round but after he tumbled threw the ropes and almost out of the ring, his trainer Shane McGuigan threw in the towel to give Bellew victory. 

The two men had exchanged many war of words during the heated build-up since the fight was announced but Bellew sportingly walked Haye back to his corner before the pair embraced.

Bellew said: "David, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, because he could have picked a lot of different guys.

"It was genuine people."I have got so much respect for David as a fighter. We can do it again."

Haye said: "I did not expect him to have the chin and the durability that he has. Bellew, by far, was the better fighter tonight.

"I believe I’m more gifted but he had a bigger heart tonight. He took my best shots, got back up, and put me down.

"I’ve never been in a fight like that before. He’s the man."I'm at his mercy - I can't think of world titles now.

"He hurt me a couple of times. To be fair, I stayed low. I stayed low in the pocket and every time he hit me on top of the head." 

Bellew is not calling for a fight with Anthony Joshua, despite his victory.

He said: "Yo Anthony. I admire Anthony Joshua so much, I'm not calling any names." 

Joshua was at ringside to watch the bout and afterwards said: "All credit to Haye, because with a busted leg he stayed in.

"Bellew stood in there with a heavyweight and it was amazing that he took those punches as well." 

In the early stages of the fight, Haye's heavier hands ensured he edged exchanges from the second, and in the third an instinctive left resembled him at his peak, but only in the fourth did the size difference between them threaten to tell.

The 34-year-old Bellew's impressive punch resistance ensured he survived a big right hand that sent him on the defensive, and a further powerful combination in the fifth.

It was in the sixth when a loss of balance led to Haye's injury, and from which point the fight descended into near farce as his corner and referee Phil Edwards allowed him to fight on.

Looking increasingly tired, reliant on one fight-changing punch and falling to the canvas amid Bellew's attacks throughout the seventh, only the injury stopped Edwards from ruling against repeated knockdowns.

The immobile Haye barely left his corner, while Bellew - wary of his counter-punching - was reluctant to unload until sensing the stoppage was finally there.

What followed was an impressive display of heart, something Haye has often been accused of lacking, as he refused to quit despite his decreasing ability to defend himself. He also became desperate when throwing and landing a cynical low blow in the ninth.

The final pursuit of an unlikely and impressive win finally ended in the 11th round, when after a further exchange sent him through the ropes and almost out of the ring, McGuigan ruled he had seen too much and belatedly through in the towel.