Tony Bellew reveals how he was expelled from school for breaking his classmate's jaw and claims he HAD to succeed in boxing because he was only good at 'punching people in the face'

Tony Bellew says he was thrust into boxing after being expelled from school for beating up his classmate after the violated their teacher. 

The former WBC cruiserweight world champion attended Lawrence Community Primary before transferring to Childwall Comprehensive for his senior years. 

However, it was at Childwall that Bellew was permanently excluded after stepping in to defend his teacher after a fellow pupil squirted a juice box in their face.

Bellew was asked to leave after 'taking it too far' by breaking the boy's jaw and smashing his teeth. Although, he was later offered the chance to return to the school to attend their sixth form.

Speaking about the incident during a fireside interview with Kody 'Big Mo' Mommaerts for NMBS, Bellew said: 'I didn't really start taking boxing seriously until I was expelled from school. 

The former world champion went on to add: 'I soon realised, I better do this [boxing] because it's the only thing I am good at. 

'Believe it or not, I was expelled from school for guess what, fighting. That was the end of it. But, just to clarify, I wasn't a bully or anything. Another pupil hit a teacher in the school. 

'Now, if it was my math teacher I would have applauded them and laughed all the way, but a young man decided to burst a carton of Ribena in a female teacher's face. 

'I ended up breaking his jaw and knocking all of his teeth out. The school expelled me because I took the force too far. So, that went fantastically well. Only for the school to invite me back a year later and ask me to do sixth form. 

'I did the stupid thing and told them no, being the pig-headed fool I was. So, yeah. That was my career in boxing, it all started from there. 

'I had no qualifications and all I was good at was punching people in the face. But, it all seemed to work out in the end so I'm not complaining.'

Bellew enjoyed a successful career winning the ABA heavyweight title three times and securing with a record of 40 wins and seven defeats before turning pro in 2007. 

Bellew became Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion in 2010 by beating Ovill McKenzie by TKO and claimed the vacant British light-heavyweight belt the following year. 

Then in 2014 he knocked out Valery Brudov to win the WBO international cruiserweight championship before facing Nathan Cleverley and Adonis Stevenson for the world title.

However, it wasn't until 2016 that Bellew was crowned champion of the world - stopping his Congolese opponent Ilunga Makabu at Goodison Park after climbing off the canvas.

Since hanging up his gloves with a professional record of 30 wins, three loss and one draw, Bellew has taken up various roles working as an analyst and commentator for DAZN, The Zone, TalkSPORT and others.

Bellew also featured in ITV's hit reality show I'm A Celebrity, being crowned the king of the jungle after undergoing several bush-tucker trials. 

The former world champion also featured on Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins - opening up on camera about life after boxing. 

Bellew opened up on his childhood while speaking to Kody Mommaerts, more commonly known as 'Big Mo' is an American entertainer and combat sports ring announcer. 

He is currently the official Ring Announcer for the boxing promotion BOXXER which airs on Sky Sports, and BYB Extreme Fighting Series which airs on BEIN Sports XTRA and Fight Network.  

The fireside chat was part of NMBS' annual gala dinner, on the evening of their national exhibition which sees executives from over 280 of Britain's leading construction manufacturers gather with over over 1000 independent builders merchant delegates generating over £10 million in additional sales.