Tony Bellew struggled to make the weight for his clash with Adonis Stevenson in 2013.
Bellew, was undefeated in his five fights prior to challenging Stevenson for his WBC light heavyweight crown.
The Scouser had been unsuccessful when he took on Nathan Cleverly for his strap two years earlier, losing the contest by majority decision.
At the time it was seen as Bellew’s last chance in the division and he’s explained exactly how tough it was for him to make the weight against Stevenson.
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Speaking to talkSPORT He said: “When I fought Adonis Stevenson, getting off the last 5lbs absolutely crucified me.
“My body was no longer allowing me to lose weight.
“I ran on a treadmill for an hour, I didn’t lose any weight with a sweatsuit on.
“I got in a sauna and didn’t lose any weight.
“At the time, my nutritionist said, ‘Your body has now gone into shutdown. The only way you can get this 5lbs off is by dragging it out of your body.’
“And that was with literally a sack full of salt and a bath so hot it burnt my skin. My backside was literally red raw, burned to the core.
“And I had to sit in this bath for 25 minutes. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to a breakdown.
“I was watching Kevin Hart on my iPad – I was laughing at his jokes and I was crying.
“This was the day before the biggest fight of my life. I can’t explain to you.
“My friend who was with me, he was saying, ‘He’s gotta get out of this bath, he’s gonna die in this bath,’ because he was watching me do it.
“And my coach was standing there saying, ‘He’s gotta make weight, it’s for the WBC title, he’s gotta make weight.’
“This was the arguing that was going on in the room at the time. It was horrific. 5lbs I lost in that bath in 25 minutes.”
“It wasn’t good, because I got in the ring the next night and got the living daylights knocked out of me by Adonis Stevenson.
“I’m not gonna lie, I had about 30 good seconds in that fight and it wasn’t enough.”
It would prove to be the last time Bellew fought at light heavyweight before his move to Cruiserweight where he did eventually win a world title.
