By Terence Dooley

Adonis Stevenson, 22-1 (19), and Tony Bellew, 20-1-1 (12), tried to go to work a day early when clashing at the weigh-in for tonight’s WBC light-heavyweight title fight, which takes place at Quebec’s Colisee Pepsi.  The two men went head-to-head and engaged in some verbals after hitting the scales — Stevenson came in at 174.4lbs and Bellew on the division limit of 175lbs.  The Canada-based Haitian and his team literally had a running battle with the Liverpudlian, the two continued to trade words as Adonis made his way out of the room.

Photos of the head-to-head started circling almost immediately, and the majority of the blame has been placed on the challenger’s shoulders.  Kerry Kayes, Ricky Hatton’s former nutritionist and conditioner, was at the melee.  He told BoxingScene that Bellew’s been unfairly portrayed as the instigator.

“From a weight point of view, he’s been on weight since Wednesday so it all went to plan,” said Kayes, who has advised Bellew on nutrition for years.  “Everyone always says this, but he’s made weight dead easily.  Stevenson looked like a little bodybuilder.

“I believe the [Stevenson] entourage were going on like that at the press conference as well.  We all got there early, did a little check weigh-in then saw Tony on the scales.  Then they called for the champion and the whole entourage came with him.

“Stevenson tried to intimidate Tony by putting his head in his face, and no one’s going to intimidate Tony Bellew, so he kept his head there.  In the photos it looks like Tony’s doing a headbutt, in reality he was reacting to Stevenson’s headbutt.

“Stevenson’s entourage were all feeding off each other.  There was a large fellow who was creating like you’d never seen.  Then that was it.  We did everything we had to do then went to a rules meeting.  I was in the hotel maybe an hour-and-half later and we [Kayes and his wife Jan] were in the foyer when the large fellow appears again, but he was on his own and quietly just walked by.  I think they just all fed off each other earlier, like people do at a football match.”

Kayes told me that Bellew was calm within minutes, which will be a relief to the contingent of fans who have followed the former British and Commonwealth champion over to Canada as it means that the challenger isn’t emotional on the eve of this big opportunity.  Kayes, though, also warned fans and pundits not to read too much into Stevenson’s highly pitched state, arguing that the in-form titlist has shown emotion and excitability aplenty in recent fights, but it clearly hasn’t been a problem for him form-wise.

“I don’t know Stevenson’s personally, so it’s hard to say,” he said when asked if the red mist could descend once the first bell goes.  “But he seems excitable anyway because when he knocked out Chad Dawson he jumped right around the ring and was shouting — I’ve never seen nothing like it in my life.”

Bellew wasn’t adverse to a bit of in-ring emoting himself whilst coming through the ranks; he would often punctuate stoppage wins with a scream or, once, a cry of: “I’m a smashing machine!”.  However, he has settled down into the role of boxer-puncher. 

Recent decision wins over Isaac Chilemba, after a draw in their first fight, and Roberto Feliciano Bolonti, a fight in which the 6'2½'' Scouser suffered a terrible cut in the first round only to box his way to a decision win despite flooring his opponent in rounds one and three, were forged on the latent boxing skills that he had first started to develop at the city's famous Rotunda Gym during his time in the unpaid ranks.

Even stoppage victories over Edison Miranda and Danny McIntosh featured more boxing than banging, in both fights he softened his opponent up without putting himself in too much danger before going for the finish when a suitable opportunity presented itself.  Those two stoppages formed a nice reverse one-two, a right hand did for McIntosh’s British title challenge and a left to the body dispatched Miranda, so there is still a predatory instinct behind Bellew's work.

Bellew, though, will be better placed if he operates as a boxer against Stevenson, especially early in the fight.  Kayes offered some words of assurance for those who are pinning their hopes on a disciplined performance.

“It’s like Christmas has arrived for Tony,” he said.  “But this is how calm he is.  One hour after the weigh in, he came over to my wife and said: ‘Is everything alright with the room, love?’, so how cool is that?  He’s in a really nice place — you can see it.  Even after that thing on the stage, it was Tony who cooled down a lot quicker than Stevenson.  I was with him 10 minutes ago and he was completely relaxed.”

Still, Stevenson’s shown a lot of mental resolve himself throughout his career.  A defeat to Darnell Boone in 2010 could have derailed “Superman”, but he came back stronger and has produced a string of stoppages.  That amazing first-round KO of Dawson is the pick of them yet he also beat former IBF title-holder Tavoris Cloud by seventh-ropund corner retirement.  Although Cloud went through the physical and mental wringer while being bested over 12 rounds by an inspired Bernard Hopkins in his previous fight and looked poorer for tangling with the veteran American boxing icon.

As for tomorrow's fight, many are opting for a Stevenson win after a shootout.  I believe that, should Bellew box well early and not be too honest in there, he can do what no man has been able to do in almost six-years by taking Stevenson the distance, and he will win on points if he wins the tactical battle.

Kayes believes that “The Bomber” will win.  He also pointed out that the 30-year-old’s boxing ability often flies under the radar and is underpinned by his physical gifts.

“Well, I’ve got to stress that I’m not a boxing coach — Mick McAllister [Bellew's trainer] is great and really knows his stuff — so it’s not really for me to say, but having seen the size of them together, I think that if he uses his jab the kid won’t be able to get past it, so he has to box behind that jab,” said Kayes.  “I can’t see why Tony, a three-time ABA champion [at heavyweight], won’t be disciplined behind that jab.  It’s such a better reach, and that puts him in a nice place.”

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