LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Britain’s Tony Bellew and Malawi’s Isaac Chilemba fought to a 12-round draw in their world light-heavyweight title eliminator Saturday night.
The boxers were bidding to become the No. 1 challenger for Chad Dawson’s WBC belt, but the three judges couldn’t split the pair.
Bellew, who lost to WBO champion Nathan Cleverly in 2011 in his previous shot at a world title, appeared to have done enough in his home ring despite rarely getting through Chilemba’s resilient defense and he looked the more disappointed by the decision.
Chilemba started sluggishly but finished the stronger of the two fighters, although neither went down or was hit with a big shot.
Bellew is 19-1-1 and Chilemba 20-1-2.
