By Ian S Palmer
The O2 Arena in London, England will host the rematch between light heavyweights Tony Bellew and Isaac Chilemba this Saturday May 25. This will be a 12-round elimination bout with the winner supposedly getting a shot at the WBC world title, which is held by Chad Dawson of America. These two fought to a split decision draw just a couple of months ago. Bellew of England will enter the ring with a record of 19-1-1 with 12 Kos while Chilemba of South Africa has a 20-1-2 record with 9 Kos.
Chilemba appeared to have the edge in the first meeting in March had he was busier than Bellew and controlled the distance and the pace of the fight with his effective jab. However, after the fight it was Bellew who seemed to be more upset about the draw than his opponent. Before this bout the 30-year-old Bellew said he only has himself to blame for the result of the first contest since he could have done a lot more against Chilemba.
But to come out of this match with a win he’s going to have to back up his words with his fists and make some adjustments in the ring. He’s quite aggressive and has good hand speed, but he has to control the ring better if he hopes to have his hand raised in victory. He also has to make sure he can go the distance since his energy level dropped off noticeably in March.
The 25-year-old Chilemba will need to start the bout at a quicker pace than the first fight and make sure he doesn’t allow Bellew to back him up as often. He’s also aggressive and has a useful jab, but his punches need to be thrown with more accuracy. He also has to make sure he doesn’t keep his hands too low.
Both boxers have so-so chins as they’ve been to the canvas before. Bellew was decked with a right hand by Ovril McKenzie a couple of times and Chilemba went down from the same punch twice when he fought Maxim Vlasov. Since this is a rematch, they both know each other’s style and what to expect in the ring. Bellew possesses more power and he has the advantage of the home crowd.
Bellew’s only loss came to fellow Englishman Nathan Cleverly back in October 2011 when he dropped a majority decision. He’s won three fights since then and drawn against Chilemba. The South African’s loss came over five years ago and he fought to a draw with Thomas Oosthuizen in the super middleweight division over that time. However, he’s gone the distance 10 times out of his past 11 bouts as he just doesn’t have much in the way of knockout power.
Bellew needs to make a name for himself soon as he’s not really a young man any more in boxing terms. His biggest win so far has been a stoppage over Edison Miranda. His loss to Cleverly was a close one and he’s certainly one of the top light heavyweights in Britain at the moment. Chilemba’s loss came in 2007 and he avenged it soon after in a rematch. His unbeaten streak has reached 14 fights, but he hasn’t really fought any household names in the likes of Vlasov, Michael Bolling, and Doudou Ngumbu. Chilemba has also beaten Miranda as he took him by a unanimous decision.
Prediction
Bellew needs to show a killer instinct in the ring if he wants to make sure he’s the winner. He’s sometimes too cautious in the ring and this is why Chilemba outworked him in the first fight. Bellew needs to stay aggressive for all 12 rounds. If he can do this he should take this bout by a decision.
