Promoter hits back at 'controversial' post-fight interview

The promoter responsible for the blockbuster cruiserweight bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Tony Bellew has hit back at criticism over a post-fight controversy.

Fans have hit out at the promotion after Bellew gave a very confused post-fight interview despite suffering a heavy knockout – prompting calls he shouldn’t have been put in that situation.

However, Eddie Hearn has addressed the concerns regarding Bellew’s wellbeing.

“I do think he was slightly concussed,” Hearn said.

“As always, the doctors will look at the fighter before they take part in any interview. We made sure of that, I put him down on his stool.

“The doctor spoke to him, he cleared him, looked into his eyes, gave him some small tests.

“He said to the doctor ‘get out my way, I’m absolutely fine’, etc.”

The 35-year-old underdog, who was in his retirement fight, owned the early rounds, but cruiserweight king Usyk soon eased into his work and started accumulating rounds.

The Ukrainian eventually dropped Bellew with a beautiful left hand that sent the Liverpudlian to the canvas – knocked out cold in his first loss in five years.

Afterwards, while clearly dazed, he had a microphone shoved in his face and was asked a few questions.

It quickly became clear to everyone watching that Bellew had very little idea of what just happened, other than he’d been beaten.

In fact, he said in the ring that he didn’t know how he’d been stopped.

He was gracious as always, and gave Usyk all the credit in the world, but he kept repeating everything he was saying.

He gave Eddie Hearn a hug and when the crowd booed, Bellew thought they were having a go at Usyk – it took the promoter to tell Bellew that the Manchester Arena crowd was in fact booing Hearn.

But still, somehow, he was allowed to keep talking and talking and talking.

“I don’t even know what round it was,” he said, before being told it was the eighth.

On social media, spectators were quick to pounce on the ugly scenes.

Boxing star’s wife unloads stunning ‘homophobic’ rant

The wife of British boxer Tony Bellew has come under fire after she was filmed launching a stunning ‘homophobic’ slur at an arena worker.

Following her husband’s eighth-round defeat to Olksandr Usyk at the weekend, Rachael Roberts allegedly called one worker a “f***ing queer” and a “dirty f***ing f*g”.

The incident took place in an elevator just moments after Bellew was brutally knocked out by Usyk, and the footage from the Manchester Arena quickly went viral.

The vision shows Roberts verbally abusing the bar staff, shouting and swearing at them in the process.

It is believed one worker who was sharing a lift with Roberts was unaware of her presence in the elevator.

The employee proceeded to say “thank god” the fight was over after enquiring about its status, and was met with the following:

“How f***ing dare you, do you know who I am?,” he claims Roberts replied.

The employee, who requested not to be identified, told the Mirror that “her actions were completely out of order for the wife of a celebrity boxer”.

“After we found out that Tony lost the fight, I thought she was using the anger of Tony’s loss and directing it at us.

“What I asked was not meant to take offence and it was simply a question about the match.”

with Agencies.