Tony Bellew’s transformation for Creed 3 had him fitter than whole boxing career

Boxing legend Tony Bellew was told he was in better shape for Creed 3 than he was throughout his whole career.

Nearly seven years after his first appearance in Hollywood blockbuster Creed, the former WBC Cruiserweight champion has returned as ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan in the third instalment of the franchise. Starring alongside acting sensation and part owner of AFC Bournemouth, Michael B. Jordan, Bellew was convinced to star in the hit movie for a second time.

While Bellew was hardly a slouch in his fighting days, he is the first to admit he never boasted the most aesthetic boxing appearance in comparison with the likes of Anthony Joshua. However, the Liverpudlian revealed many people were telling him he looked to be in better condition than he did when he was competing in the squared circle.

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“Getting in shape for that was different,” Bellew said in an exclusive interview with Daily Star Sport, while talking about the next series of the 'Tony Bellew is Angry' podcast. “I got myself some stomach muscles which people couldn’t believe. People told me I looked in better shape for that than I did in my career.

“I never trained to look a certain way. My whole career, I’ve never trained to get a six pack, I’ve never trained to look right, I‘ve always trained to be a better boxer and a better fighter and a more adaptable athlete. Unfortunately for me, that did not bring a six pack out.

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“When I trained to change the way I looked aesthetically, it worked as an absolute treat. The guy who trained me, got me in absolutely unbelievable shape and I had an absolutely fantastic time doing it.” Creed 3 comes out in cinemas on March 3, but the first trailer teasing the third film came out in October.

According to Bellew, it will not be one to be missed. “I was on the heavy side at the time,” Bellew admitted, when asked to detail the conversation between him and Jordan. “I thought ‘right, I have to work myself into shape’. I said ‘Mike, what are you thinking?’ He said ‘we have to have another fight’. I said ‘son we’ve had one fight, I won, it’s game over’ and he laughed. He said ‘no, Creed cannot go out like that’.

“I said, ‘okay we’ll have another fight, but it’s got to be a proper fight’ and he said ‘okay it’ll be a proper fight’. We get a proper fight. As I said, it was fantastic. Michal B Jordan has created an absolutely amazing movie.

“Believe me, Creed 3 will be the movie of 2023. The acting in the movie is second to none, the fight scenes, the monologues, the training, the montages are next level, believe me. There are more pro boxers in this movie than in any other boxing movie before. There’s myself, Terrance Crawford, Canelo Alvarez, there are so many, Jose Benavidez is in there as well. There’s buckets and buckets of talent.”

You can listen to the new series of Tony Bellew is Angry on BBC Sounds

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