Merseyside ace beat Haye for the second time at the O2 Arena and was clearly teary as he described his family's pain over passing of beloved Ashley
TONY BELLEW has described his battle with intense grief after the death of brother-in-law Ashley Roberts.
The Merseyside bruiser, 35, beat David Haye with a fifth-round stoppage at London's O2 Arena and was clearly emotional in his post-fight interviews.
Bellew had the name of his late brother in law stitched on to his shorts and broke down in tears after winning.
Roberts, the brother of Bellew's partner Rachel, died on a family holiday in Mexico last year, aged 32.
He said: “I’ve been my own all week. Each night I’ve cried.
“He's has been on my mind since August, I miss him so much."
An outpouring of emotion was clear on the face of Bellew, 35, with tears in his eyes, proving the excruciating pain he and his family have been going through behind closed doors.
He added: "I've been a mess, I'm emotional, it's over and I just need to be left alone for a bit.
"You just have to get through it, I'm messed up but we're going to get through it as a family.
"I left an empty seat tonight, I left an empty seat and I was with him.
"I can't put into words what I've been through in the last eight months, I have no words."
Bellew also told of how his partner Rachel went for a jog at a resort in Portugal at the exact time of his fight, admitting she couldn't watch and had been trying to get him to quit.
But he told talkSPORT he wants to keep going.
He added: "(It has been) the most horrible eight months of my life.
"She's (his wife) is my toughest fight. I said this would be my last one, but I know I have got to keep fighting because I live for nights like this."