Tony Bellew knocks out David Haye to win again

It took Bellew 11 rounds to stop an injury-stricken Haye in their original clash at Goodison Park 14 months ago, but the fight was over as a contest by the third round after twice flooring his rival.

Haye responded valiantly – shrugging off another right leg injury and hauling himself off the canvas – and dragged his last-stand out through a punishing fourth round.

But in the fifth, moments after hitting the floor for a third time, the referee stepped in to halt the fight amid a bombardment of punches.

The pair had been painted as enemies in the build-up – particularly before the first fight – but the respect flowed in the aftermath of Bellew’s famous double.

"David Haye goes down a better fighter than me," Bellew said, who admitted he was broken after the death of his brother-in-law last August.

"He is an amazing fighter, he just got caught in a slugfest. He's a great fighter, he has got crazy power but speed and power always decreases. He is a legend, a credit to the sport and I'm just happy I've got the win against the odds.

Under his new trainer Ismael Salas and until the first knockdown, Haye was winning and had improved on the poor performance he had produced when losing last March.

But, of his future, he told talkSPORT: “I’ll have to go back and review exactly what happened then make a decision. It’s never good to make a decision when everything is up in the air.

“Tony boxed better than I did, plain and simple, and the better man won.

“Nobody can say they didn’t get a good night’s entertainment. They definitely got their money’s worth, but the better man won on the night, Tony Bellew, so congratulations to him.”