For Bellew, this is 22 lbs heavier than he weighed for his last fight against WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson last November. Bellew has moved up in weight to the cruiserweight division due to his struggles to make weight at light heavyweight. With him now at a much heavier weight, Bellew feels that he’ll be stronger and will be able to fight at a higher level.
Bellew is putting a lot of pressure on himself to beat the 37-year-old Brudov, as he’s talking retirement if he loses to him. Bellew said to Sky Sports “It’s the be all or end all. It’s that big. If I can’t beat Valery Brudov then I’m not going to be a world champion and I just don’t think there’s much point in carrying on to be totally honest, so this is it for me.”