Tony Bellew has admitted that a momentary lapse in concentration almost cost him dearly on his cruiserweight debut.
The 31-year-old Liverpudlian dominated Saturday night's fight against Valery Brudov at the Echo Arena and knocked his opponent down three times in total.
However, prior to securing victory late in the final round, Bellew almost hit the deck himself in the seventh, as he walked onto a big right hand that sent his gum shield flying and temporarily left him out on his feet.
"I'm happy," Bellew told Sky Sports News. "It's a six out of 10. I won - that's the main thing."
He added: "I switched off. I said this was going to be a tough fight and believe me, at this weight I can punch. I took him clean off his feet a couple of times, especially the second. I thought 'that is good night now', and he got up. I thought 'welcome to the cruiserweight division'.
"I've come back from a loss, and a significant loss, so I've had a lot of questions to answer. Not to anyone else but me. I'm the one who puts my head on the pillow at night.
"This guy has more KO's than I've had fights. I'm happy I've done it late on too, as it shows I carry power."
Bellew had claimed in the build-up to the fight that he would retire from boxing if he were to lose to Brudov.
