The weekend that was- Manchester Recap
Last Saturday, the British boxing public bid farewell to our long-time client and friend, Tony Bellew, who stepped into the ring for the final time against Olexandr Usyk. It is fair to say that the atmosphere in the Manchester Arena when Z-Cars kicked in was nothing short of spine tingling, with the vast majority backing ‘The Bomber’ superbly. A 20 year long career had all come down to this – a chance to become the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world.
Tony looked resplendent in his blue camo and velvet shorts, taking the early rounds comfortably as he boxed beautifully on the back foot. Despite this, we saw why Usyk has such a fearsome reputation as the rounds continued to tick by. Round 4 and 5 saw the Ukrainian increase the pace and pressure, looking the land his left hand. It was the shot that unfortunately saw the contest come to an end. The sheer power in the shot dropped Tony heavily, leaving the referee with no choice but to wave it off.
It wasn’t the outcome we had all hoped for, however everyone at SW feels nothing but immense pride for a man who ended his journey in the sport, how he has always travelled it. He’s never backed down from a challenge and has taken on all comers, even at a few days notice. We wish Tony well in his retirement and know he will look back on a career that has fulfilled his wildest dreams and proved so many doubter wrong.
We also had the pleasure of supporting Anthony Crolla on the undercard on Saturday night. Daud Yordan proved to be a troublesome opponent at times, with his non-stop pressure and come forward style of fighting making for an eye catching affair. Crolla (in his custom made studded black leather shorts) showed the slightly better work throughout and was rightly given the fight via a unanimous decision.
We know how hard Anthony trains and with this win he’s now in line to sit the biggest test in boxing, with him mandatory for Vasiliy Lomachenko. Should that fight be made, expect another terrific night of boxing (hopefully back in Manchester).
We’d love to hear your views on both Tony’s and Anthony’s custom made shorts from this weekend. Tweet us @Suz1Wong and #CustomMade.
Don’t forget you have the chance to win your very own custom designed shorts up to the value of £300, in our exclusive competition. Head over to our Instagram page to find out more. The winner will be announced on 19th November.