Phil D. Jay
WBN Editor
‘Bomber’ survives terrible cut to score unanimous decision
Tony Bellew gave himself a massive boost up the WBC rankings
by claiming the silver version of the light-heavyweight title, but had to come
through a nasty gash over his right eye to get the job done against Roberto
Bolonti.
The 29 year-old looked to be on the verge of finishing the
night early after putting the Argentinian down in the first and third rounds,
before a glancing blow by Bolonti ripped open the cut and Bellew began to pour
blood immediately.
Mick Williamson in the Liverpudlian bruiser's corner may now have
earned himself a nice Christmas bonus from Eddie Hearn for stemming the flow at
a critical point at the end of the fourth as referee Victor Loughlin took a closer
look.
Bellew was then forced to change tactics from his earlier
bullying tactics and boxed beautifully for the remaining eight rounds to
completely shut-out Bolonti as Williamson’s work on the cut surpassed
expectations.
It was a mature performance from Bellew, who now moves on to
a possible WBC title eliminator in the spring or beyond, and has champion Chad
Dawson in his sights for a world title shot by the end of next year.
Two judges at ringside scored the bout exactly the same as
me, 120-106, whilst a third gave Bolonti one round to card 119-107, but still
hand Bellew a comprehensive victory at the Capital FM Arena.