The BoxRec summer interviews - Tony Bellew

One of the more active trade posters on BoxRec's British and Irish forum is loquacious Scouser Tony 'Bomber' Bellew. The Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion, 13-0, won his title with an easy first-round job over shockingly bad Ghanaian import Atoli Moore but will face a stiffer test in his first defence on 24th September against Leeds-based Bob Ajisafe.  'Bomber 1' is well known and liked on the forums for his wit and openness.

What has been the highlight of your career this season?

Winning the Commonwealth title. Not the greatest opponent but we didn't get a chance to see how good he was really? The fight was offered to various other fighters in the British top 10.

Any low points?

Injuries.

What do you realistically aim to achieve in the next year?

I'll be disappointed with anything less than being British, Commonwealth  and European champion this time next year. Im an ambitious person and very motivated, I'll do whatever it takes to get to the next level!

Who would you most like to fight next season and why?

Ideally Cleverly but that's not gonna happen as we have the same man guiding us. Him aside, I'd love Danny McIntosh, I'll show him what a Scouser in a tracksuit is really capable of.

Is there anything you plan to focus on in training after the summer?

We'll try Tenerife for a week to see what it's like, other than that I'll continue where I usually finish off, running in the morning, Manchester in afternoon for boxing work and Everton FC for strength and conditioning in the afternoon. I prepare for every fight like it is my last, come fight night Im a different kind of human being.

Who do you view (other than yourself!) as the best British boxer in your division?

Nathan Cleverly.

Outside of your division, name one current British boxer you hold in high regard and explain why you rate them.

Frankie Gavin, he is without doubt the best fighter in the country P4P. The kid is a special talent who has everything. I train with him so know him very well, I also spent a lot of time with him in the ams. Being Britian's ONLY ever world am champion is some achievement. It's not just that he won it, it's the manner in which he won it, defeating a man that was undefeated in three years and was recognised as the best am P4P in the world. Tischenko was amazing but Frankie gave him a boxing lesson and ended up winning by nine points. I knew he was special after he defeated Valentino in Sunderland, I thought he could lose this but he really shocked me and took him to pieces and Valentino is the reigning world am champion right now! I never doubted Frankie again after that night.

What rule change(s), if any, would you like the BBBofC to introduce?

I would have three officials on every single fight and also make more eliminators too. The ref's job is hard enough without scoring the fight, I think we have some fantastic officials too.  The Board is good too but I do wish that they would order more fights between the top ten in each weight though. I'm personally being avoided like the plague and I really don't know why as I ain't showed anything yet. I hope to fight the best and soon!

Are you a fan of Prizefighter or not? Either way, how would you improve it?

Personally no, I do think it is good for boxing though, it gets the general man talking about boxing and also gets it back on in the pubs up and down the country. That can only be good for the sport. Also the fighters are well paid through it and I'm all for that!This sport is very hard and I'm all for the fighters making as much money as possible. If I could change one thing I would have the replacements box each other after all the first round fights to see who goes in if there is an injury. That way it's on a level playing field with everyone having already boxed. Not very fair a guy having two fights and a fresh guy coming in. Maybe put it up to four rounds too instead of three, it's still only twelve rounds in one night so it shouldn't be a problem with the board? May turn into less of a sprint.

Why do you post on the BoxRec forum?

I enjoy reading people's thoughts and how they view the sport and the athletes, I also enjoy giving the fans another view point of the game. Without the fans we wouldn't have a sport to compete in.  BoxRec is a good forum and I know a lot of pros are also on here so when something is written then word gets around so I guess it's also a useful tool as well.

If you could name one BoxRec poster you would like to share a ring with, who would it be and why?

FTM Press - I would love to give Frank Maloney a nice quick hard jab. I'm joking by the way. But if he could arrange it with Dean Powell I'd take it!

I would firstly like to say thanks to my fantastic sponsor DoorSec Security who make it possible for me to train and live this game 100% like I do. Without them it would not be possible to do what I do. Huge thanks. I'd also just like to say thank you to my fans and everybody on the forums for their support too.