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Tony Bellew has always tried to put his family first
From the pay-per-view draw he commands to the numbers he tips on the scales, Bellew has quickly become one of the best-known fighters in Britain and the world.
But he is also a working class hero, much as he shuns the title, and his down-to-earth style and family values have made him popular beyond just his Merseyside homeland.
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“I’ve invested every penny I have into property so that my kids will be very well looked after so I live like I’m potless,” Bellew said.
“My missus keeps telling me ‘you can get a nicer car’ or whatever but the house is done up, I’ve reinvested it into property.
“I am not a multi-millionaire.”
It was David Haye, former two-weight champion of the world, who gave Bellew that title, another he has to try to escape.
He would much rather be known simply as Tony, although he would also rather not be known at all.
The 34-year-old hates fame. He doesn’t post pictures of his children on social media and if someone disturbs him for a photo when he’s eating, they’d better be ready for a dressing-down.
But you get the impression Bellew would never actually reject such a request. He seems too polite, too humbled.
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Tony Bellew is due to marry his partner Rachael next yer
Even compared to the man who reiterated his “B**** of Bermondsey” nickname for Haye on Sky One’s League Of Their Own, filmed a few months ago, this Bellew seems a much more sombre man. It briefly presents as the seriousness of the task ahead.
“For these next 12 weeks, I’m going to be scared,” Bellew added, citing his hatred of camp but love of the sport of boxing.
“Every night I will think ‘I’ve got to make it home’. That’s the mentality.
“The last two years of my life, everything has gone great.
“Most nights, me and my missus sit down and we say ‘it’s going that great that something has got to go wrong’. And then what happened, happened.”
What happened was that Ashley Roberts, Bellew’s beloved brother-in-law-to-be, passed away in August at the age of 32.
“It’s heart-breaking. It puts things into perspective. I fight because I like fighting. I’ve got a lot of pent-up anger and frustration in me.
“There’s that many emotions going through my head at the moment.
“All I know is I’ll be in great shape [on December 17].
“I’m in great shape now because all I’ve done is train, go home and cry, train go home and cry for the last three weeks.
“I go to the gym. I punch and everything else goes away. Then you go home.
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Tony Bellew almost retired after beating David Haye – but admits he couldn’t stay away
“I will dedicate the fight to Ashley. He followed me everywhere. Ash loved boxing and he loved me.”
Unlike Bellew, a lifelong Evertonian, Roberts was a Liverpool season ticket-holder. On derby day, Bellew says, the banter was unrelenting.
But he paid tribute to his dear departed friend even in the first press conference, contrasting his blue three-piece suit with a red tie, a colour he says he usually never wears.
It makes it all the more remarkable that this fight got booked. His family commitments, which have become even greater since father-of-two Roberts’ death, have made him schedule a camp at home instead of abroad and his body is beginning to fail him.
Even before the tragedy, coach Dave Coldwell told his fighter to walk away after the Haye win, while he still had his health.
And Bellew admits he nearly took his advice.
“I was 17-and-a-half stone and I thought ‘can I be arsed getting weight off?’,” Bellew said.
“I enjoy fighting. I can’t stop. I actually like fighting.
“My missus begged me to stop and I was very close to considering it.
“I thought about it after the last fight. My hand was a mess. I’ve broken my hand six times now. My right hand was the size of a balloon in the dressing room afterwards last time.
“I don’t know how much more my body can do. I’m not aesthetically the best. I don’t look a million dollars.
“I don’t have the big six-pack and the beach body. I’ve never believed in that. If you can fight, you can fight.”
He often says he has been fighting all his life. After a second win over Haye, he will hope to hang up his gloves – literally and metaphorically – for good.