Write off the king of the underdogs at your peril

WBC, WBO, WBA & IBF world cruiserweight titles
Sky Sports Box Office, 10pm Saturday

King of the underdogs Tony Bellew finds himself as a big outsider once again as he prepares to challenge undisputed world cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in Manchester. But while it looks like one of the toughest challenges of his career he is in exactly the place he wants to be.

Bellew has continued to defy the odds as his fairytale story has unfolded, and though the prices suggest he is in over his head against Usyk punters are wary of opposing a man who has continually proved his critics wrong.

Ladbrokes reported this week that 85 per cent of all bets they had taken on the fight had been on Bellew, with just six per cent going on Usyk.

It looked as if Bellew's career was heading for the buffers after two failed attempts at winning a world title at light-heavyweight - a points loss to bitter rival Nathan Cleverly in 2011 was debatable, but a crushing knockout defeat to Adonis Stevenson two years later was not.

Bellew was miles away from the boxing summit and going backwards. Something needed to change. Drained from dehydrating his 6ft 3in frame down to 175lbs Bellew decided to move up to the 200lb cruiserweight division, and he has never looked back.

Revenge over Cleverly was sweet, but not as sweet as winning a world title, especially as he did it at his beloved Goodison Park.

Bellew then accepted to step up to heavyweight for a big payday but few gave him a chance of beating former world champion David Haye, who was a massive favourite. Bomber, a 24-5 underdog, stopped a limping Hayemaker in the 11th, then smashed him to pieces inside five rounds in the rematch despite being 9-4 for a repeat victory.

The decorated Evertonian is now near the top of boxing's money tree and he could have earned a bigger payday fighting lesser opponents with higher-profile names. But Bellew is a man driven by challenges and the chance to become an undisputed champion was too great to turn down.

Usyk has had only 15 professional fights, but he is already ranked in The Ring magazine's top five pound-for-pound boxers. He joined the paid ranks shortly after winning heavyweight gold at the London Olympics in 2012 and has taken to the pro game with ease.

The Ukrainian won a world title in just his tenth pro fight, and cemented his standing as king of the cruiserweight division by winning the eight-man World Boxing Super Series tournament, beating Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev on the way and collecting all the belts for his efforts.

• Undercard

He is trained by the father of lightweight champ Vasyl Lomachenko - who is number one in The Ring's pound-for-pound rankings - and has his eyes on a fight with Joshua, a strong possibility as both men are promoted by Eddie Hearn.

First he must find a way past Bellew, but while Usyk may have the advantage in ability he is unlikely to have ever faced a man with more will and determination than Bellew, and despite his extensive experience fighting all over the world as an amateur and a pro the atmosphere inside the Manchester Arena will be something else altogether.

Proud Scouser Bellew has claimed that Manchester is neutral territory, but it's not. Almost every person inside the arena will screaming their support for the people's champ, and Bomber will need all their energy to pull off the upset.

Usyk has looked as cool as a cucumber during fight week, and with his southpaw stance and superb defensive skills he will be confident of navigating any problems Bellew presents.

Bomber must find a way or hurting him early or he faces a frustrating night and a lopsided defeat on the scorecards, but he has proved at cruiserweight and at heavyweight that he has the power to cause anyone trouble, and as good as Usyk is his KO record will not scare Bellew.

Four of Usyk's last six fights have gone the distance, and being a student of boxing Bellew knows his best chance is to win by knockout so expect him to let his fists fly from the first bell.

Bellew says this will be his last fight, and exiting the sport as the undisputed champion of the world would be the perfect end to an incredible career in the ring. It's a tall order, but Bellew has made a career of defying his critics and his backers can be certain that he will put absolutely everything into winning them their money.

Backing Usyk to win on points at 7-4 may be the common-sense approach, but Bellew is at his best when the odds are against him and fully deserves the title King of the Underdogs.

Recommendation
T Bellew
1pt 24-5 188Bet

Read every day for no-nonsense previews and expert sports betting tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport