Tony Bellew beats limping David Haye in 11th round after epic bout sees Haye fight on despite Achilles injury

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Tony Bellew silenced David Haye on a thrilling night at the O2 Arena with an 11th-round stoppage of his bitter rival.

But the Hayemaker emerged from the battle with immense credit after suffering a suspected snapped Achilles tendon midway through the fight and battling on bravely for five more rounds.

Bellew finally ended the contest with a right hand which put Haye through the ropes 2minutes 16seconds into the penultimate round.

And even though Haye jumped back into the ring before referee Phil Edwards had counted to 10, his trainer Shane McGuigan threw in the towel.

Bellew climbed on to the ropes to take the acclaim — and he deserved all the applause that rained down on him for the way he has conducted himself in the build-up to the fight and the contest itself.

Haye’s injury might have detracted from the quality of the bout but it made for an entertaining battle.

He now faces a real hard road to get his career back on track, if he can fix the Achilles which was reportedly causing him problems in the build-up to the fight.