LONDON - Britain's Tony Bellew put himself in contention for a shot at the world heavyweight title after stopping former champion David Haye on Saturday night.

Bellew (29-2-1), the WBC world cruiserweight champion, stepped up a division to stop his countryman in the 11th round in a bout that took a dramatic turn in the sixth when Haye sustained an ankle injury.

It was an upset win that leaves Bellew with plenty of options after Haye (28-3) was stopped for the first time since 2004.

Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Bellew's future is now at heavyweight and is confident of making home fights against either WBC champ Deontary Wilder of the US or New Zealand's WBO title-holder Joe Parker, who defends his title against Briton Hughie Fury on May 6.

"He's just beaten one of the best heavyweights in the world so do you want him to go back down to cruiserweight or fight Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker?" Hearn said at a press conference after the fight at London's O2 Arena.

"I think we could bring Wilder or Parker to the UK. This fight has done great numbers and they aren't going to get that money anywhere else.

"Tony's beaten one of the best heavyweights in the world, so as far as I'm concerned he's earned his shot."

But Bellew, 34, insisted he had not decided on his next move, which includes the option of a rematch against Haye in Liverpool.

"We'll evaluate everything on Monday morning, but the salt and pepper are on my side of the table next time," said Bellew.

From the sixth round, Haye was left dragging his injured right foot behind him and was an easy target for Bellew, who showed no mercy, flooring him in the seventh and then sending him crashing through the ropes in the 11th prompting trainer Shane McGuigan to throw in the towel.

After the fight, Haye went to hospital for treatment on his injured ankle.

Thurman prevails

At Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Keith Thurman built a big lead over Danny Garcia and held on to add the WBC welterweight title to his WBA championship with a split decision in their title unification match on Saturday.

Thurman won his 28th straight fight, handing Garcia his first loss in 34 bouts.

After five furious rounds, the pace slowed - even bringing boos from the large crowd at times. But it ended with a flourish of exchanges in the 12th and final round.

Thurman was favored by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 while Garcia won one scorecard 115-113.

"I knew with a wide spread it had to go to me when I heard the scores," Thurman said of the decision.

Garcia disagreed, saying: "I thought I pushed the fight like a true champion and did enough to get the victory."

Thurman said his lack of offense in the middle rounds was a tactical gamble. "I was not giving the fight away," he said. "I felt like we had a nice lead, we could cool down. I felt like we were controlling the 3-minute intervals in each and every round."

Garcia, 146.5 pounds, of Philadelphia, actually landed a higher percentage of his punches, 30 percent to 26 percent for Thurman, 146.2 of Clearwater, Florida. But Thurman was far more active, throwing 570 punches, 136 more than Garcia.

Associated Press