Tony Bellew praised after admitting he nearly died before entering I’m a Celeb

Tony Bellew is being praised after admitting that he nearly died before entering the ITV jungle.

The former boxing champion recently became a campmate on this year’s series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

Bellew arrived as a late comer to camp along with Italian jockey Frankie Dettori.

They’ve joined the likes of Nigel Farage, Jamie Lynn Spears and Fred Sirieix as they hope to become King or Queen of the Jungle.

The boxing commentator had previously revealed that he'd almost pulled out of I’m A Celeb after his nan, Rose, died just one day after signing his contract.

Bellew said that he only committed to heading over to Australia once he’d confirmed he could get back in time for her funeral afterwards.

And that now he’s in there, he’s since revealed that he nearly died when he fought Oleksandr Usyk back in 2018.

During last night’s (26 November) episode, Bellew claimed if the referee hadn’t called it off, he fears he wouldn’t have survived the fight.

Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty Images

The Scouser said the referee ‘saved his life’ when he fought the Ukrainian boxer, while telling Spears he ‘lives for the knockout’.

Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson then asked the 40-year-old what it was like to fight Usyk which had a simple answer: “Too hard.”

“I’ve never fought someone like him whose got everything,” Bellew explained.

Praising the boxer’s skills, he went on to explain that he was so ‘exhausted’ he doesn’t remember the last parts of the fight.

Usyk beat Bellew by KO when the referee stopped the fight in the eighth round – ending the Brit’s ten-fight winning streak.

“I remember everything up until round seven,” Bellew said. “I don’t remember round eight.

Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

“He didn’t knock me clean out. I wasn’t asleep – I was down on me back, and I get up at six.”

But although he was standing, he added: “Thank God the referee didn’t let me [fight], because he’d [Usyk] kill me.

“The referee literally saved me life. Next shot probably puts me away for good.”

And in the TikTok comments of the I’m A Celeb clip, users call the boxer a ‘top bloke’ and a ‘proper chap’.

Others added: “Fair play he is humble.”

Another also said: “I used to not like him because he thought he was all that yk but generally he’s a decent person and I like seeing him in here.”

One even put: “The lad is a legend,” as many hope that he makes it to the final.

Topics: Celebrity, ITV, Im A Celebrity, TV and Film, Boxing

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_