The 33 year-old defeated Haye via eleventh round stoppage at the O2 Arena in London last March and had been linked to walking off into the sunset.
Even a recent appearance at the press gathering for Martin Murray’s clash with Gabriel Rosado had failed to get clarification on Bellew’s future, although the Liverpudlian lifted the lid on his next move live on Sky Sports this Saturday night.
“I love the sound of heavyweight champion of the world,” said Bellew.
Bellew is now hoping to land a heavyweight title shot against the likes of Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker in 2017 but may have to decide on whether to rematch ‘The Hayemaker’ in the meantime.
Promoter Eddie Hearn is known to be keen on pitting the two together again once Haye recovers from injuries suffered in the spring battle, whilst Bellew could earn more money a second time around which could be the deciding factor.
Another win over Haye would then give Bellew more options once the dust settles on Anthony Joshua’s clash with Wladimir Klitschko and the situation regarding the title belts at 200 pounds plus becomes clearer.
Joshua or Klitschko may be forced to relinquish a strap once one of them unifies three titles on April 29, which could leave Bellew or Haye in the frame for either a vacant title chance or indeed a shot at Wilder or Parker later in the year.
There’s also the possibility of a Hughie Fury upset against Parker on May 6, and with Bellew’s history of needle with cousin Tyson, any match-up between the two Brits would be a massive event.
