Champ defends British light heavyweight title with 5th round stunner against McIntosh
Tony Bellew sent a chilling warning to Euro champ Eduard Gutknecht after a stunning fifth round knockout of Danny McIntosh in his British light heavyweight title defence live on Sky Sports at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.
The hometown star delivered an over hand right at the start of the fifth that was a fitting finish to The Big Bang billing, and there was only one winner from the start as Bellew bossed proceedings in front of his raucous army of fans.
Bellew rocked McIntosh in every round, finally flooring the Norwich fighter at the very end of the fourth round. McIntosh had a minute to recover, but it was not enough as Tony put the icing on a dominant performance with his devastating knockout blow.
McIntosh came into the fight brimful of confidence knowing he’s prospered in tough waters before after winning the European title in France against Thierry Karl. But he was unable to silence the partisan crowd this time around as Tony jumped all over the challenger from the off and is looking to face Gutknecht for the European strap after running out of patience over a rematch with Nathan Cleverly.
“I needed to make a big statement tonight and that’s exactly what I did,” said Bellew. “It was a calculated performance and my game plan was all about speed.
“Danny wasn’t in France tonight, he was Scouseland and he couldn’t handle me or stop me. I’m humbled that people spend their hard earned cash on coming to see me fight. I’m no different from the fans; I just punch people in the face for a living that’s all.
“I don’t need Nathan Cleverly to make a name for myself. He’s fighting number 83 in the world, which says it all. I just want to fight someone who will challenge me. I’m not interested in anything less than that. I would fight him anywhere but he doesn’t want to know, so let’s move on.
“Who is there in this country to fight? I want to fight the best. I don’t want to train for 12 weeks and fight someone who I can blow over.
“To be European champion would be a dream and I would love a fight in Germany with Gutknecht, what an experience that would be. I just want to be the best that I can be and I have a good team around me so we’ll get there in the right way.”