Thursday 29 April 2021 10:27, UK
Tony Bellew hailed Anthony Joshua as the 'king of the boxing world' after his sensational win over Wladimir Klitschko.
Joshua added the WBA 'super' to his IBF heavyweight world title, stopping the Ukrainian in the 11th round in front of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium.
The Brit was put down for the first time as a professional in the sixth but Bellew believes the 27-year-old is now the world's number one.
"He is the best heavyweight in the world, make no bones about that. Absolutely no question," he told Sky Sports.
"He is the number one, he has no questions to answers. He is no longer the king of British boxing, he is the king of the boxing world.
"I did say in the build-up that when he gets caught by hard, clean shot, it could be a problem, but he answered that by being put on the floor.
"Yes, it took him three rounds to get over it but we have just learnt that when the going gets tough, Joshua gets going."
Bellew, who was cheering Joshua on from ringside before jumping in the ring to celebrate Saturday night's win, admits he was one of the few who openly had doubts about Joshua's chin.
But the Olympic gold medallist climbed off the canvas and produced a brutal finish to hand Klitschko his second successive defeat, following his loss to Tyson Fury in 2015.
"Klitschko stole rounds, very cleverly and Anthony played the game a bit," he said.
"But ultimately he ticked all the boxes and proved all the doubters wrong. Even I had doubts about him once it's gone past four, but I am so happy I got it wrong."
Watch the repeat showing of Joshua vs Klitschko at 4pm on Sunday. Book the event online here or via your Sky remote.
