Fresh from his split-decision win over Nathan Cleverly, Liverpool boxer Tony Bellew has announced he is to appear in Ryan Coogler's Rocky spin-off movie, Creed. Bellew will join champion boxer Andre Ward and The Wire star Michael B. Jordan in the movie that focuses on the grandson of Apollo Creed.

Ryan CooglerRyan Coogler will direct the Rocky spin-off movie, Creed

Coogler, who directed the acclaimed Fruitvale Station, will get behind the camera, while Sylvester Stallone returns as Rocky Balboa who mentors Jordan's character. The movie is likely to begin production in January with shoots set for Las Vegas and Philadelphia.

Though Bellew's casting has made headlines in the UK, it is the acquisition of Ward that will most interest boxing fans in the U.S. He is the current world champion in the super-middleweight division and is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet. 

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There's no word yet on who Ward will play, though Bellew, 31, will reportedly play Creed's primary opponent, 'Pretty Ricky Porter'.

"I'm going to Hollywood on December 4 for an assignment,' said a coy Bellew after his fight with Cleverly on Saturday (November 22). "I've been sought-after for a long time. I hope it's a speaking part because no-one wants to look at this face if I'm not talking. My life's going to change."

"I've had the contracts sitting in front of me for weeks because I wasn't signing them. If this fight had gone wrong I wasn't signing, I was going home to be depressed."

"I can't go into the details but let's just say it's big. It will be 40-odd days of filming, I just hope I can do it."

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