Eddie Hearn drops big hint about Tony Bellew’s next opponent

"Let me fight him. I'll bash him up."

Eddie Hearn has been speaking about the possibility of Tony Bellew fighting Andre Ward, and it seems like there's a lot of interest from both parties to make it happen. Last week, Bellew said he respects Ward, who is arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, but would be confident of victory against the American. "I'm a full blown, big cruiserweight," Bellew said.

"I'm not a light heavyweight who is struggling anymore and I've just shown that I can deal with one of the most powerful heavyweights in the world. I would have no problem dealing with Andre Ward."

https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_UK/status/877653606786191360 It appears Bellew's words have reached Ward. The 33-year-old successfully defended his WBA, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles against Sergey Kovalev in Las Vegas earlier this month, and according to Eddie Hearn, he has a "big interest" in stepping into the ring with Bellew. "I spoke to Andre Ward's team last night - James Prince and Josh Dubin - just talking about various things in boxing," Hearn told Sky Sports.

"Andre Ward has got a big interest in fighting Tony Bellew. That was the first phone call I got after the Ward-Kovalev fight was Tony Bellew saying 'let me fight him. I'll bash him up.' We'll look at that fight."

If the fight against Ward doesn't go ahead, Bellew has other options. The Liverpudlian hasn't fought since his dramatic eleventh round stoppage victory over David Haye in March, and has said he is open to a rematch when recovers Haye recovers from his ruptured Achilles. https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_UK/status/857962443808624640 However, Bellew said he has a few conditions that Haye would have to meet.

"I am willing to do it (fight Haye), not a problem, as long as I have some say this time, because last time I had zero say and I was quite open about saying that in the build-up. The only thing I could do was choose my gloves and choose my shorts. But this time I want a little bit more say in how things are going to go and how things are ran, and in the percentages as well. I had zero say last time."