Frank Stea
Senior Reporter
 |
| Picture by Lawrence Lustig |
Top light heavyweight contender Tony Bellew
18-1 (12KOs) is closing in on his November 17 battle for the vacated WBC Silver
light heavyweight title against tough Argentine veteran Roberto Feliciano
Bolonti 30-1 (19KOs) in Nottingham.
The former world title challenger faces Bolonti,
who has never fought outside of his native county. The South American is riding a 25-fight
winning streak dating back to 2006, where his lone loss being a four round
decision loss in only his fifth pro fight.
The 29 year-old recently shared his
thoughts on the clash with WBN and sees Bolonti as a tough challenge for his
co-feature slot at the Captial FM Arena.
“He’s a good fighter. His record speaks for itself. He’s thirty one wins and one loss. The loss came early in his career and I fully respect him and I’m prepared for
whatever he brings on November 17th,” Bellew told World Boxing News.
Liverpudlian Bellew switched up his normal
training routine for this upcoming fight and traveled across the Atlantic to
search for different sparring partners. Mentioning he sparred with the likes of Sean
Monaghan, Curtis Stevens and Marcus Browne while in the states. Bellew shared
his experience training in the U.S. and his thoughts on the importance of
exposure in the states.
“I went over to New York and did ten days
of training there. I did most of it at
Gleason’s gym and I also spent some time in Coney Island and Long Island.
“The
sparring over there was pretty fierce and was very competitive. It was exactly
what I wanted. It was a good experience and one I’ll be doing again in the near
future.
“There were a few good guys there. It was
really good. I think I gained everyone’s respect when I left there because
nobody knew who I was when I first arrived. After spending the ten days there, I think everyone knew who I was and
that was purely the boxing and not anything else.”
Bellew is beginning to gather a name for
himself in the States of late after his impressive win over Edison Miranda and
hopes to build on it with another standout win next month.
“It’s very important for me to get the exposure
in the states. My grandfather lives in America and my mother is half American,”
explained Bellew.
“It’s not just a fanbase thing or
experience for a fighter as my grandfather lives in Indiana. It would be great for my family to see me
fight over there. It would also be an
honor to fight somewhere like Las Vegas or at Madison Square Garden. It would
be a dream come true.”
Follow Tony Bellew on Twitter @TonyBellew
Frank Stea is co-presenter of ATG Radio as well as a head
reporter at WBN. Follow him on Twitter
@FrankStea and @ATGRadio.