Below par Bellew frustrated by Ajisafe
Tony Bellew suffered a flash fourth round knockdown and was extended the full twelve rounds for the first time in his career by Bob Ajisafe before retaining his Commonwealth light-heavyweight crown at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel tonight. Judges Marcus McDonnell (115-114), Mark Green (117-111) and Richie Davies (116-112) made Bellew a unanimous points victor but on this evidence the Liverpool slugger has a lot to work on in the gym.
Bellew finished with swelling underneath both eyes and faded down the stretch, conceding the last three rounds to slippery southpaw Ajisafe who displayed some nice skills and a solid chin to gradually frustrate Bellew as the contest wore on. In the main though, Bellew bossed the fight and rocked the back-pedalling Ajisafe on several occasions but lacked the accuracy and variety to put the awkward Darlington challenger away.
Bellew (12st 6 8oz) tossed over several right hand sighters in the opener which mostly bypassed Ajisafe’s (12st 6 12oz) whiskers but stiffened Bob’s legs with a left hook in round two and a follow-up right bundled the challenger to the canvas however referee Ian John-Lewis ruled it a slip. Ironically, despite the number of right hands that Bellew launched at Ajisafe throughout the contest it was the left hook which posed the greater threat.
Ajisafe, bloodied to the nose, looked pensive at the end of three completed rounds but received a rousing pep talk from trainer Dominic Ingle and suddenly the rank outsider started to believe in himself. He began the fourth by shooting out his southpaw jab instead of merely pawing and followed it up with a straight left down the pipe which dumped Bellew on the seat of his pants for the second time in his career.
It was flash knockdown and Bellew immediately rolled over and rose to his feet, more embarrassed than shaken. The angered Liverpool man immediately sought to take the play away and a cracking right hand briefly made Ajisafe sag in the centre of the ring as Bellew produced a rapid reply. Bob seemed on the verge of going down but not the for the first time the southpaw stylist found a way to tie Tony up on the inside and evade his telegraphed right-hand swings.
If there is a criticism that can be levelled at Bellew, he was far too reliant on his right hand which frequently missed, he seldom attacked the lanky Ajisafe’s body and often seemed stuck in second gear. As Bellew, extended past round six for the first time, became increasingly frustrated Ajisafe grew in confidence and looked a talented fighter when he decided to let his hands go.
Bob was getting the better of things in round eight but was again shaken by a left hook to the temple as Bellew once again illustrated that his raw power was capable of turning the fight on its head at any moment. Again Bob stumbled to the canvas on shaky legs as Bellew's strength inside forced him over - once more referee John-Lewis elected not to take up a count. Bellew, throughout his celebrated amateur career and thus far as a professional, has become accustomed to his power overwhelming his opponents but Ajisafe displayed a solid chin and good survival instincts to weather several storms. With greater accuracy, an injection of pace and an element of surprise it may have been a different story.
In Tony’s defence. this was only his second fight of the year after he blew away Atoli Moore inside a round to capture the Commonwealth crown in March. Bellew, whilst still largely in control, started to show the first signs of fatigue in the tenth as Ajisafe came forward behind his snappy jab and briefly befuddled Bellew with brisk one-twos. It would have been interesting if Bob had displayed more self-belief earlier but on this showing the Darlington man can definitely figure in the British title picture going forward. Ajisafe’s eyecatching jab and crisper work also saw him sweep the last two sessions, surprisingly backing Bellew up in the final round which certainly wasn’t in the script beforehand.
On this evidence, Bellew is some way behind domestic rival Nathan Cleverly who will challenge for world honours by the end of the year. Tonight could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the confident Liverpool man though – he’s got 12 much needed rounds under his belt and has learned a thing or two to boot.
We’ll be able to judge just how much Bellew has taken on board from trainer Anthony Farnell when he returns to action on the undercard of Paul Smith’s British super-middleweight title defence against Paul David in his home-city on 23 October.
