Tony Bellew's marriage to childhood friend and brutal fight that 'nearly killed' him

Gogglebox fans have been overjoyed to learn that former boxer Tony Bellew will be joining the cast of tonight's celebrity special. He will be joining Jordan Pickford for the Stand Up to Cancer episode of the hit Channel 4 show tonight (Friday, October 25).

Tony made a showbiz comeback when he appeared on last year's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, on ITV. A firm favourite with fans and the other contestants, Tony sparked an unlikely friendship with reality star Sam Thompson and finished as a runner up behind his new pal.

And it was on the show, presented by Ant and Dec, where viewers learned more about the gritty reality of being a professional boxer.

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In camp, he discussed his final fight with Oleksandr Usyk. After fellow contestant Sam asked: “What was it like fighting Usyk?” Tony replied: “Too hard. Obviously he’s amazing. I’ve fought stronger people, I’ve fought quicker people, but I’ve never fought someone like him who has got everything. He works you out. He downloads what you do."

Tony explained: "He’s downloading all the data in front of him. It takes him three rounds to do it. With me, it took him eight. And then he does it, he pulled the trigger. But I was exhausted, like. I remember everything up until round 7. I don’t remember round 8."

Fred Sirieix, also a contestant on last year's show, then asked: “Because you were so tired?” Tony said: “Yeah.” Sam asked: “Does he hit hard or not?” Tony said: “No and I was up at six. He didn’t knock me clean out… I got up at six, thank god the referee didn’t let me because he’d have killed me.”

Tony made his professional boxing debut back in 2007, soon making a name for himself in the industry. He was holder of the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles in 2010. According to the outlet, by the time he retired he was worth as much as £15 million.

Tony's final fight was against Oleksandr Usyk and reportedly earned him around £4 million for the match, the Mirror reports.

He has since hung up his gloves, choosing to dedicate more time to his wife Rachael, whom he's paid tribute to in posts on Instagram. One of his most recent public displays of affection was in July this year when he shared a gushing anniversary Instagram post alongside a series of photos.

The former professional boxer shared a collection of photos on Instagram to mark their wedding anniversary. It featured some from their nuptials, including of the couple with their children, and others from their lives together.

He captioned the post: "I've been through everything with this girl and couldn't have done or achieved anything without her! The day we came together was the most important day of my life. I love ya more than you know [Rachael], oh and I'm looking forward to play golf twice this week luv…"

Fans showered the pair with well wishes in response to I'm A Celebrity finalist Tony's anniversary post on the platform. As reported by OK! magazine, one person wrote: "A good example of when you pick the right partner, everything is possible. Happy anniversary you two."

Tony and his wife met when they were children. According to The Sun the pair were first introduced while at school, however they later reconnected when they were 18-years-old. The couple have been married since 2018 and share four sons together.