
London, July 22: Tony Bellew told Oleksandr Usyk "I was born ready, let's get this done" after the history-making cruiserweight called him out on Saturday (July 21).
Usyk quickly turned his attention to Bellew after outclassing the previously unbeaten Gassiev to claim the inaugural Muhammad Ali Trophy - even declaring his willingness to "eat more spaghetti" if the fight needs to happen at heavyweight.
"First of all, we need to take a rest after this difficult fight. After that, I will sit with my team and we will make a decision," he said in his post-fight interview.
"At this time, I have heard that Tony Bellew wants to fight the winner of the Muhammad Ali Trophy. I hope he will see me talking.... 'hey Tony Bellew, are you ready?'
"If he doesn't want to go down [to cruiserweight], I will go up for him. I will eat more spaghetti for my dinner!"
Bellew stated it would need to be "something absolutely ridiculous" for him continue his boxing career following back-to-back wins over domestic rival David Haye.
However, the Englishman wasted no time in accepting the challenge, tweeting: "Usyk I was BORN READY!! Let’s get this done!!"
Usyk simply replied: "I'M ALSO READY."