Tony Bellew Vs Isaac Chilemba - Fight Preview

By Jack Sumner @Jack_Sumner_

The big ones almost here people and soon the waiting shall be over, as this Saturday fans will pack London’s O2 Arena ahead of the eagerly anticipated rematch.

That’s right, Tony Bellew and Isaac Chilemba meet in a WBC eliminator for the second time after their action-packed twelve round battle back in March was scored an indecisive draw.

Ok, so the first encounter wasn’t really a classic, in fact rather a scrappy, fragmented affair with Bellew often frustrated by the tactics his tricky opponent employed. Chilemba was cautious and Bellew appeared to edge a number of the early rounds based on workrate alone with few punches landing, but was also made to miss badly as the Malawian produced the cleaner, better quality work down the stretch.

Tony Bellew Vs Isaac Chilemba - Post-Fight Report

@PriceyJ97.

Bellew Vs Chilemba - Will the "Bomber" prevail?

By Nathan Orr @OrrzBoxing.

At the Liverpool Echo Arena the local hero Tony Bellew (19-1-0) steps up to face challenger Issac Chilemba(20-1-1) as an eliminator for the WBC light heavyweight title. Personally I have found this fight as hard to predict as choosing a chocolate bar at Willy Wonkas factory!

The first thing that struck me was the lack of footage available on the Malawian boxer, after trawling through the internet I came across videos titled in Russian involving the figures of Issac Chilemba and power puncher Vlasov circling the ring. Admittingly I was impressed with what I saw from Chilemba, he led with a jab that could force many pressurising opponents onto the backfoot from the first bell. It’s clear from his fights that he is more comfortable on the outside rather than in close quarters and additionally with the help of Buddy McGirt he has learnt to mix it up in the inside with a variety of punches often linking in combinations.

Tony Bellew Vs Isaac Chilemba - Fight Preview

By Jack Sumner @Jack_Sumner_

After a series of impressive wins that have almost taken him to the summit of the light heavyweight ladder, Tony Bellew hangs just one rung away from reaching his goal of world title contention. In front of an adoring home crowd at Liverpool’s Echo Arena this weekend, the likeable Scouser attempts to scale the penultimate bar by beating Malawian puncher Isaac Chilemba.

Since narrow defeat to Nathan Cleverly in challenging for the WBO title eighteen-months ago, Bellew (19-1, 12 KOs) has matured and developed into a fighter who looks competent on the world stage. He rebounded from the Cleverly defeat with a one-punch knockout of Danny McIntosh and stepped up a level to stop Edison Miranda in nine rounds, before collecting a shutout victory over Argentinian Roberto Bolonti in December to win the WBC’s ‘Silver’ light heavyweight strap.

More important than the lightly regarded title was the position that the Bolonti fight put Bellew in, #2 in the WBC rankings and within touching distance of a challenge to titleholder and division boss Chad Dawson. According to Eddie Hearn, the winner of Bellew-Chilemba will definitely meet the winner of Dawson’s scrap with Adonis Stevenson, but ‘The Bomber’ can’t afford to take his focus off the task ahead of him this Saturday as he’s faced with a formidable and equally motivated opponent.

The Fans Have Voted: Bellew Vs Chilemba

This Saturday British fan favorite Tony Bellew (19-1, 12 KO's) takes on proven South African Isaac Chilemba (20-1, 9 KO's) in what could be the toughest fight of the 30-year old's career so far. The winner of this fight will become a serious contender in the light-heavyweight division and will be almost guaranteed a shot at WBC world champ Chad Dawson. The bout takes place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool so Bellew will have home advantage and he does enter this fight as the slight favourite, but there are many fans out there who believe that the 30th is going to be a bad night for 'The Bomber.'

This is how the fans see the fight going:

Tony Bellew at post-fight press conference

@IFILMLONDON

Tony Bellew & Isaac Chilemba go head-to-head!

@IFILMLONDON