Tony Bellew has landed in the Australian jungle as a latecomer on I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and is already complaining about the lack of food. The 40-year-old retired professional boxer made his debut on the ITV reality show on Thursday (November 23) and was left stunned after being served beans for dinner, which he kindly refused, and also confessed he was once left "skint".
The new I'm A Celeb campmate, nicknamed the Bomber, has left his comfortable family home to take on the dreaded Bushtucker trials in hopes of being crown king of the jungle, and he brings an incredible backstory with him. The former WBC world cruiserweight champion from Liverpool became a professional boxer in 2007.
In 2010, Tony became the Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion but failed in two attempts to win the world title at that weight against Nathan Cleverley and Adonis Stevenson. But six years later he finally became a world champion after stepping up to his more natural division of cruiserweight, when he stopped Congolese opponent Ilunga Makabu.
In 2018, the pro officially announced his retirement from the sport after a defeat against Oleksandr Usyk. Since hanging up his boxing gloves as a fighter, Tony has worked as an analyst and commentator for a number of outlets including DAZN, The Zone, and TalkSPORT.
But the ITV reality show isn’t the sportsman's first dabble in television as he appeared on Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2019. The brutal show, which was then led by ex-Special Forces soldier Ant Middleton, saw Tony confront his demons and speak candidly about the explosive rage inside him which made him fear he would end up in jail like his father.
"In the past, I've done some things I'm not very proud of," he said. "I miss having a fight. I miss punching people in the face, if I'm totally honest."
The power puncher has also been a star on the big screen when he bagged a supporting role in the 2015 hit film Creed, a spin-off to the famous Rocky movies. Sylvester Stallone reprised his iconic role as Rocky Balboa, who took on Adonis Johnson, the son of Apollo Creed, as his protégé.
Tony played the role of Ricky Conlan, defending world light-heavyweight champion in a brutal match which was filmed at Goodison Park. He reprised the movie role this year for Creed III.
Away from the spotlight, Tony is married to his childhood sweetheart, Rachael, whom he has known since he was just nine years old. After growing up in nearby Merseyside neighbourhoods, they were reunited at age 18 when Rachael was clubbing at the bar where Tony worked as a bouncer.
After reportedly rejecting him three times, Racheal finally agreed to a date with besotted Tony and the rest is history. The happy couple tied the knot in 2017 and share three sons: Corey, Cobey, and Carter.
The couple had known each other as school children. He once taunted his opponent before a fight by saying: "I'm more frightened of my missus than you. I wouldn't mess with her."
With Tony’s physical strength and courageousness the I'm A Celeb jungle should be a great challenge for the former boxer. But as a fiery mix of contestants struggle to cope with basic rations and terrifying tasks, will he reign supreme?
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! airs on ITV on weekdays at 9pm
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