Tony Bellew has officially called it a career.
The former cruiserweight world champion posted a video on social media, which can be seen below, Bellew confirmed that he is no longer going to fight, doubling down on his retirement statement made after losing to Oleksandr Usyk on November 10.
It is time for me to finally leave the ring, the bell has rung for the final time and I want to thank you all for the support you have given me over the years, it is not the end of my story though so keep an eye on https://t.co/hsCbVmBcMc #bomberbellew #retirement pic.twitter.com/jDUdFZWiB5
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) November 22, 2018
"Today, I am officially retiring. There will be no more fighting from me. The only thing you'll see me doing from here on in is act sensible and behave myself. I've had a fantastic career. I realized my dream on the 29th of May, 2016, my wildest dreams came true: I became the WBC cruiserweight champion of the world at Goodison Park, the dream location, the dream title and the dream ending, a third-round knockout over Ilunga Makabu. It's been a story, it's a journey: a British, a Commonwealth and European title also secured along the way... Thank you for your support. I'm officially retired. Goodbye," Bellew said in the video.
Bellew started his pro career in 2007 and would pick up a number of regional titles across the United Kingdom. He unsuccessfully challenged for the WBO light heavyweight title in 2011 and the WBC light heavyweight title in 2013. The aforementioned win over Makabu was Bellew's first world title victory and would go on to defend his title against BJ Flores in October 2016. Bellew had a brief run at heavyweight, defeating David Haye twice.
The 35-year-old Bellew, who turns 36 on November 30, went back down to cruiserweight to challenge for Usyk's undisputed titles, but was knocked out by Usyk in the eighth round. Bellew had previously stated that the fight against Usyk would be his last. Bellew retires with a 30-3-1 record as a professional boxer.
