Cleverly and Barker: Heartbreak In Wales, Tears Of Joy In Atlantic City!

08/18/201308/18/2013 James Slater

IMAG0001 What a rollercoaster night of emotions British boxing fans experienced last night! In Cardiff, Wales, unbeaten WBO light-heavyweight champ Nathan Cleverly was the victim of one of the most one-sided beat-downs seen, as the lethal-hitting monster that is Sergey Kovalev won by crushing yet at the same time seemingly effortless fashion.

Simply put, the fight was no contest from the start, as the Russian terror knocked the unbeaten Welshman senseless, to the point where the referee was all but holding Cleverly up at the end of that torrid 3rd-round. The slaughter should have been stopped then, as Cleverly was totally gone and seemed out of it as he sat on his stool. Cleverly actually appeared to come to in the corner and he was allowed out for the 4th. The inevitable was swift in coming, however.

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Sergey Kovalev vs. Nathan Cleverly – round by round breakdown of the fight

08/18/201308/18/2013 Ivan Ivanov

UEFA Women's Under 17's Draw (photo credit: Main Events) Sergey Kovalev has emerged as a force to be reckoned with and he is like a breath of fresh air. Fans like to see boxers winning decisively beyond doubt and leaving no room for controversy and politics. Kovalev did just that and perhaps established himself as a leading pay-per-view star. Here is a quick breakdown of his winning effort:

Round 1: Not much of initial probing and testing, the differences in their stances reflected the difference in their styles. Cleverly leaned a little forward most of the time smoothly shifting weight between offense and defense. Kovalev had a puncher’s stance and kept his weight on the back foot as a rule but shifted form foot to foot with punches. His footwork was much faster and sharper than Cleverly’s as was his hand speed. His superior range orientation allowed him to keep his guard low and the hands free for punching. His defense relied heavily on counter punching and reflex. He used the jab only as a range finder for his left hooks and right hands. Cleverly did not throw or land anything significant and this would become a worrying pattern for him.

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Kovalev answers questions, routs Cleverly

08/18/201308/17/2013 Shaun Ramirez

Nathan Cleverly v Sergey Kovalev (Photo credit: Eoin Mundow/SEEN Sport Magazine) Undefeated Russian Light-Heavyweight Sergey Kovalev served noticed to the rest of the fighters at 175lbs and answered a lot of questions about his ability in his four round destruction of belt holder Nathan Cleverly of Wales. Cleverly’s come forward in your face style played right into the strengths of Kovalev and he was in trouble from the start.

The 3rd round saw Cleverly dropped twice by not just one shot but the barrage of punches that the Russian was throwing and in the 4th the ref stepped as Cleverly had nothing left to offer.

Coming into the fight even though Kovalev was the betting favorite there were plenty of questions you could of asked of his quality of opposition faced especially, after Gabriel Campillo was knocked out on friday night in Chicago. In a less than deep Light-Heavyweight division Kovalev, for me at least, has now propelled himself to the top passing the ageless Bernard Hopkins and hard punching Adonis Stephenson because make no mistake Nathan Cleverly was a legit fighter in the division.

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Kovalev obliterates Cleverly; Maccarinelli defeats McKenzie; Smith smashes Buckland

08/17/201308/17/2013 Michael Collins

Nathan Cleverly v Sergey Kovalev (Photo Credit: Eoin Mundow/SEEN Sport Magazine) WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (26-1, 12 KO’s) was BADLY exposed tonight by the unbeaten powerful Russian Sergey Kovalev (22-0-1, 20 KO’s) in what you can only call a total slaughter in losing to Kovalev by a 4th round TKO at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. Heck, it wasn’t even a fight.

It was like watching someone pound away at a helpless punching bag. I mean, Cleverly hit the deck three times in the fight, and the fight should have been stopped in the 3rd round after Cleverly had been knocked to the canvas twice by crushing right hands from Kovalev.

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Nathan Cleverly vs. Sergey Kovalev: Gogue’s Big Fight Preview

08/17/2013 Joseph Herron

cleverly66 On Saturday, March 4th, 2006, at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England, undefeated and long reigning WBO Super Middleweight Champion Joe Calzaghe attempted to silence the fight critics who consistently claimed the slick southpaw was a protected fighter who religiously avoided the best competition in his respective division by facing the hard punching and undefeated IBF title holder Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy.

Leading into this historic and memorable unification bout, Jeff Lacy had garnered the reputation as one of the hardest pound for pound punchers in the sport, stopping five of his previous six opponents. With a deep amateur pedigree and an impressive knock-out victory over mutual opponent Robin Reid, the American born power puncher was the overwhelming favorite among most fight scribes and boxing fans across the globe.

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Video from Cardiff: Nathan Cleverly 174, Sergey Kovalev 173

08/16/201308/16/2013 BoxNation

photoCleverlyKovalevWeighIn2 At today’s official weigh-in on Cardiff’s busy Queen Street, outside the Capitol Shopping Centre, WBO World Light-Heavyweight Champion Nathan Cleverly came in at 12st 6lb (174lb) while the challenger Sergey Kovalev weighed 12st 5lb 8oz (173lbs).

Undefeated Cleverly makes the eighth and riskiest title defence against the dynamite-punching Russian tomorrow night at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena, live and exclusive in the on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546) and in America on HBO.

Cleverly said, “There is nothing left to say now and all the talking will be done in the ring tomorrow night. All the hard work is done, I’ve hit the weight spot and I’m ready to fight. I can’t wait for it, bring on Kovalev.”

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Cleverly vs. Kovalev: Is Nathan clever enough to deal with the pressure?

08/16/2013 Chris Carlson

This Saturday on HBO Nathan Cleverly and Sergey Kovalev will get their biggest test to date when they collide in the ring live from Cardiff, Wales. The stage is set, both men unbeaten and fell ready to take the next step up the ladder at the light heavyweight division.

Can Cleverly step up to the challenge of facing a dangerous fighter who will thrown combination punches and with major power in both hands? Will Kovalev be able to handle the pressure of being under the bright lights of HBO, in the Welshman’s backyard, and if the fight makes it to the championship rounds will stamina play a role having only had 57 rounds in 22 fights?

The winner almost certainly will get future HBO options, a pay increase, and will be one step closer to taking on the king of the division.

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Geale vs. Barker, Cleverly vs. Kovalev this Saturday on Boxing After Dark on HBO

08/14/201308/14/2013 HBO Boxing

HBO’s hit late-night boxing franchise presents a split-site, world championship tripleheader, highlighted by a red-hot middleweight title clash in Atlantic City, plus an intriguing light heavyweight bout from Wales when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: DANIEL GEALE VS. DARREN BARKER, JONATHAN ROMERO VS. KIKO MARTINEZ AND NATHAN CLEVERLY VS. SERGEY KOVALEV is seen SATURDAY, AUG. 17 at 9:45 p.m. (ET/PT) from Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City (live ET/tape-delayed PT) and the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales (tape-delayed ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. will be ringside in Atlantic City for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

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Cleverly vs. Kovalev: Interview With Kovalev Manager Egil Klimas

08/14/201308/14/2013 BoxNation

kovalev22 KOVALEV MANAGER: ‘WHEN YOUR WELSH FANS START TO SING, SERGEY WILL JUST PRETEND THEY’RE SINGING FOR HIM!’

So what to we know about Sergey Kovalev, the formidable Russian destroyer who challenges Welshman Nathan Cleverly for the WBO World Light-Heavyweight strap at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena this Saturday?

Known as ‘Krusher’, the 30 year old was born in the city of Chelyabinsk, an ice hockey stronghold, in April 1983. He began boxing aged 11 after following a friend to the gym and knocked up a hugely impressive 193-22 amateur slate which included national titles and international singlets at both junior and senior level.

He was the Russian representative at the 1999 European Cadet championships and captured two gold medals at the World Military Games. Twice he was victorious in dual international meets between Russia and the USA.

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Kovalev faces Cleverly for light heavyweight title Saturday on HBO

08/14/201308/13/2013 Main Events

CARDIFF, WALES – Russian light heavyweight knockout artist, Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, 21-0-1, 19 KOs, takes on undefeated WBO champion Nathan Cleverly, 26-0, 12 KOs, for the world light heavyweight title at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff Wales, Saturday night. The fight will be shown on HBO in a broadcast scheduled to begin at 9:45 PM (Eastern Time).

Kovalev will not only have to overcome the unbeaten champion’s boxing style, he will have to do it in the hostile environment of Cleverly’s back yard. However the hard-punching challenger has been on quite a roll of late, five knockouts in his last five starts, and is completely confident that his abilities can carry him to the championship against Cleverly, regardless of the fight’s venue.

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