Tony Bellew shared who he thinks has the toughest punch, and it’s not Oleksandr Usyk.
Tony Bellew has surprised many by naming someone other than Oleksandr Usyk as the hardest puncher he’s faced in his boxing career. Even though it’s been nearly eight years since Bellew retired, after losing to Usyk in Manchester, he still remembers that fight clearly.
Since then, Usyk has become one of the greatest fighters ever, winning all 25 of his fights, including big wins over Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua — twice! Usyk was definitely the toughest opponent Bellew ever faced in his 11 years in the sport. But when asked about who packed the hardest punch, Bellew picked David Haye, the very man he knocked out twice.
Bellew told DAZN in 2024, “[David] Haye had the most power, no doubt. Stevenson hit me hard too, but I was struggling with my weight that night. Haye’s power was obvious from sparring with him, and anyone who fought him will tell you the same.”
Bellew beat Haye in 2017 and 2018, both by knockout, although injuries slowed Haye down toward the end of his career. Bellew himself made history in 2016 by becoming the WBC cruiserweight champ with a knockout over Ilunga Makabu before moving up to heavyweight to face Haye.
His loss to Usyk in 2018 by TKO in the eighth round proved to be too much, and that’s when Bellew decided to retire — with 20 knockouts and just three losses in 33 fights to his name.
After beating Haye in 2017, Bellew dreamed of becoming heavyweight champ and there was talk of fighting the winner of Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko. But he quickly ruled himself out, saying, “Joshua is just too big.”
“I was a big cruiserweight, but a small heavyweight,” he said in 2017. “I respect Anthony Joshua a lot though — he’s a great guy.”
Interestingly, years later Bellew has changed his mind about fighting Joshua. He told the Fights Your Corner podcast recently, “I was sure I wouldn’t fight him, but now I would. I don’t really want to, but everyone has a price.”
He also talked about how great trainer Brendan Ingle could have been for Joshua, comparing him to legends like Naseem Hammad.
It’s clear that even years after retiring, Bellew still has plenty to say about boxing and the fighters he’s faced!