Have Ilunga Makabu and Tony Bellew ever fought each other?

Yes. Ilunga Makabu and Tony Bellew met once on May 29, 2016, and Tony Bellew won by KO in round 3.

Who has the better record, Makabu or Bellew?

Ilunga Makabu is 31-4 and Tony Bellew is 30-3-1. Tony Bellew has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Makabu or Bellew?

Ilunga Makabu has 27 knockout wins and Tony Bellew has 20. Ilunga Makabu has more.

Do Makabu and Bellew have any common opponents?

Kill The Body's bout data shows no opponents that both Ilunga Makabu and Tony Bellew have faced.

Who is bigger, Makabu or Bellew?

Tony Bellew is the taller fighter at 190 cm, 7 cm above the other.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Makabu and Bellew?

This comparison is drawn from 36 bouts tracked for Ilunga Makabu and 35 bouts tracked for Tony Bellew. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Ilunga Makabu vs Tony Bellew — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇨🇩DR CONGO

Ilunga Makabu (31-4) and Tony Bellew (30-3-1) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share no common opponents in Kill The Body's bout data.

Makabu

Wins27 KO · 87%

Losses

Draws36 tracked bouts

Bellew

Wins20 KO · 67%

Losses

Draw35 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Bellew leads 1–0

Ilunga Makabu and Tony Bellew have met 1 time; Bellew leads 1–0.
Met	2016May 29	Series
Ilunga MakabuFighter A	LLost	0–1W–L
Tony BellewFighter B	WWon	1–0W–L
Result	KOR3Bellew vs Makabu	1Meeting

Bellew vs Makabu · May 29, 2016

The Numbers

Makabu 3 · Bellew 4 of 7 measurable rows

MakabuEdge = longer wingBellew

Record: 31-430-3-1 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 88.6%
89.7% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 27: 27 (edge)
20
KO rate0–100%: 87.1% (edge)
66.67%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 88% (edge)
65%
Times stopped^†max 4: 4
2 (edge)
Title reignslevelmax 1: 1
1
Bouts per year^‡max 3.2: 2.1
3.2 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 36: 36
35

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Height+3″: Ilunga Makabu: 6′0″; Tony Bellew: 6′3″ (edge)
ReachLevel: Ilunga Makabu: 74″; Tony Bellew: 74″
Age5 yrs apart: Ilunga Makabu: 38; Tony Bellew: 43
Stance: Ilunga Makabu: Southpaw; Tony Bellew: Orthodox

Ilunga Makabu left, Tony Bellew right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Ilunga Makabu32 wins · from 36 tracked bouts

28 by KO/TKO 88%4 on the cards 13%

Tony Bellew31 wins · from 35 tracked bouts

20 by KO/TKO 65%11 on the cards 35%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Ilunga Makabu 36, Tony Bellew 35 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

No opponents in common across the bouts Kill The Body has tracked for these two.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Ilunga Makabu has won two straight since losses to Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelian. Makabu last boxed on Sep 5, 2025 — 411 days ago.WLLWW

Mchunu Jan 2022Jack Feb 2023Mikaelian Nov 2023Attia Dec 2024Kemeh Sep 20252.1 tracked bouts per year

Tony Bellew last boxed on Nov 10, 2018 — 2,902 days ago. Bellew had won four in a row before losing by stoppage to Oleksandr Usyk.WWWWL

Makabu May 2016Flores Oct 2016Haye Mar 2017Haye May 2018Usyk Nov 20183.2 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Ilunga Makabu and Tony Bellew ever fought each other?: Yes. Ilunga Makabu and Tony Bellew met once on May 29, 2016, and Tony Bellew won by KO in round 3.
Who has the better record, Makabu or Bellew?: Ilunga Makabu is 31-4 and Tony Bellew is 30-3-1. Tony Bellew has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Makabu or Bellew?: Ilunga Makabu has 27 knockout wins and Tony Bellew has 20. Ilunga Makabu has more.
Do Makabu and Bellew have any common opponents?: Kill The Body's bout data shows no opponents that both Ilunga Makabu and Tony Bellew have faced.
Who is bigger, Makabu or Bellew?: Tony Bellew is the taller fighter at 190 cm, 7 cm above the other.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Makabu and Bellew?: This comparison is drawn from 36 bouts tracked for Ilunga Makabu and 35 bouts tracked for Tony Bellew. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Ilunga Makabu vs Tony Bellew — record, stats and common opponents compared

Ilunga Makabu

Tony Bellew