Exciting isn’t a word one regularly associates with British cruiserweight contender Tony Bellew (25-2-1, 16ko), and nothing changed in that regard last night either, after another forgettable, 8 round “late-notice” bout against Latvian journeyman, Arturs Kulikauskis (16-26-5), in Leeds.
Bellew, without trainer Dave Coldwell, who is in the US with WBA (reg) bantamweight champion, Jamie McDonnell, made hard work of a mobile, but limited, survivor in Kulikauskis, and went hunting for the punch to finish things from the get-go, enjoying limited success in a difficult to watch contest that set the tone of almost the entire underwhelming fight card from the First Direct Arena.
It took Bellew until the fifth round to find the punches to end matters, having mixed his shots up a bit more than previously, prompting referee Steve Gray to wave the fight off after a slightly more inspired flurry of punches from the Scouser.
“You expect that (durability) with these Eastern Europeans,” Bellew said to iFLtv after the fight. “They’re very tough, hard men, and fighting’s in their blood.
“He (Kulikauskis) was no different tonight. He gave me a few smirks and hit me low a couple of times, but this is professional boxing and not a game of tiddlywinks,” ‘Bomber’, added.
It’s been almost two years since Bellew was dominated and stopped by WBC 175 lb champion Adonis Stevenson in Toronto, and after moving up to 200 lbs following that fight, he has been pretty uninspiring since, notching four routine wins over club fighters in frankly difficult to watch fights either side of his most notable win – the PPV snooze-fest return with Nathan Cleverly last November.
In spite of this, he believes he is in line for a world title shot at cruiser, and prefers the look of relatively inactive, though talented, IBF champion, Yoan Pablo Hernandez (29-1), who is set to defend his title for the first time in 13 months in Argentina against Victor Emilio Ramirez, now on the 2nd of October after previous postponement.
It would seem however, that Bellew will take any option to get to a belt, though putting him in the mix with any of the current champions like Hernandez, WBC boss Grigory Drodz, or new WBO champ Kryzstof Glowacki, makes you realise it’s extremely hard to see how he could do enough to actually win.
Along with the growing Eastern European element like Rakhim Chakkiev (23-1) , Dmitry Kudryashov, and 8-0 Ukrainian former amateur standout, Oleksandr Usyk, the 200lb division – often seen as slim pickings – has been growing in depth as of late, and the talent pool is making it harder for someone of Bellew’s skill-set to fit in.
Twitter @Undilutedpoison
