Make or Break For Cleverly in Chicago

09/29/201509/28/2015 Olly Campbell

Former WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly travels out to Chicago on October 16th to the adopted backyard of Poland’s Andrzej Fonfara in what will be a make or break fight for the Welshman.

Cleverly had enjoyed a relatively successful tenure as champion from 2011-13, although had arguably been matched very carefully until he ran into Russian banger Sergey Kovalev, who destroyed the Cefn Forest fighter in four brutal rounds in front of his own fans in Cardiff to take his title in August of that year.

continue

Andrzej Fonfara: After Cleverly I Want a Rematch With Adonis Stevenson

08/27/201508/27/2015 Olly Campbell

It has now been officially confirmed and announced that Chicago based Pole Andrzej Fonfara will indeed be facing former WBO 175lb champion Nathan Cleverly at the “Windy City’s” UIC Pavillion on October 16th, in a Premier Boxing Champions on Spike broadcast.

At the first official presser to announce the fight yesterday (Weds), Fonfara, who battered Julio Cesar Chavez Jr into quitting on his stool in April, is insistent that while he isn’t looking past Cleverly, he is more keen to right past wrongs – wrongs that he feels include his UD loss to lineal WBC 175lb champ Adonis Stevenson from May of 2014.

continue

Andrzej Fonfara v Nathan Cleverly Looks Set for October in Chicago

07/21/201908/20/2015 Olly Campbell

It was announced some time back that former WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (29-2, 15ko) would be fighting Chicago-based Pole Andrzej Fonfara (27-3, 16ko) in the Autumn/Fall, and it’s now looking set that the two will indeed clash in the “Windy City” on October 16th, according to multiple sources.

It is a very, very dangerous fight for Cleverly in Fonfara’s adopted backyard, with defeat surely spelling the end for the Welshman in terms of operating at a meaningful level and being in any kind of future world title contention.

continue

Nathan Cleverly: ‘I Want To Rematch Kovalev’

07/16/201507/16/2015 Olly Campbell

It was a bleak night for British boxing and Nathan Cleverly back in August of 2013, when the then WBO light-heavyweight champion surrendered his title to big-hitting Russian Sergey Kovalev in front of his hometown fans in Cardiff – knocked out in four dominant rounds by the brutal puncher, who announced himself to the world and ripped the bottom out of the Welshman’s confidence and career in the process.

However, 2 years on and after a brief flirtation up at cruiserweight, the former champion is back at 175 lbs and is looking to right past wrongs, telling respected British publication ‘Boxing News’ – perhaps misguidedly – that a Kovalev rematch would be on his radar for the future.

continue

Nathan Cleverly Set To Face Andrzej Fonfara

06/26/201506/26/2015 Olly Campbell

It’s now looking next to certain that former WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly will return to the ring in October against Chicago-based Pole Andrzej Fonfara in a bout that is set to be screened on Sky Sports, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed today.

Cleverly was out in a blink and you’ll miss it affair last month on the recent ‘Rule Brittania’ undercard that was headlined by Kell Brook and Frankie Gavin’s IBF welterweight clash. It was a return to 175 lb for the Welshman who flirted with an ill-advised move to cruiserweight following his 4 round destruction at the hands of Sergey Kovalev two years ago.

continue

Cleverly to melt down to light heavyweight to fight on 4/11, wants Braehmer

01/07/2015 Bill Phanco

Nathan Cleverly is going to need to drop a ton of weight to get down to 175 for his next fight on April 11th in Lees. He’s moving from cruiserweight back down to light heavyweight where he hopes to get a crack at WBA World light heavyweight champion Jurgen Braehmer in the near future. That fight obviously won’t happen on April 11th, but that’s the direction Cleverly is being steered in.

First, however, he’s going to need to lose 25 pounds to get down to 175. This isn’t just 25 pounds of fat though. This is 25 pounds of muscle that Cleverly slowly put on in order to move up to cruiserweight. He won two out of his three fights in that weight class, but after his lethargic performance in losing to Tony Bellew last November, Cleverly decided he should move back down to light heavyweight.

continue

Cleverly v Bellew II – Undercard Review

11/24/201411/23/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

On a night where the main event failed to deliver on the fireworks promised Cleverly v Bellew II was ably propped up by an undercard featuring some of Britain’s brightest talents. Both current and future world champions sharpened their tools ahead of bigger nights to come.

Anthony Joshua KO1 Michael Sprott (10 x 3 mins British Heavyweight title eliminator)

When Anthony Joshua arrived in the ring at 11pm he did so with menace sporting a Tyson like get-up of solid black and like the erstwhile baddest man on the planet, the 2012 Olympian wasn’t in the mood to hang around.

continue

Cleverly v Bellew II – Main Event Review

11/24/201411/23/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

Tony Bellew gained sweet revenge this evening with a split decision victory over bitter rival Nathan Cleverly in his hometown of Liverpool. In doing so, Bellew (who moves on to 23-2) established himself as mandatory challenger to the WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Marco ‘Captain’ Huck.

It’s often the case that rematches just fail to deliver on their promise of a repeat of what had gone before. Tonight the Liverpool Echo Arena bore witness to one such occasion, when Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew met for the second time to settle their long-standing bitter feud, in the full view of the PPV cameras.

continue

Cleverly v Bellew II – Main Event Preview

11/22/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

The talk, the hype, the bravado, it all stops today for Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew as the time to set the record straight finally arrives. The magnitude of the occasion will have dawned on the fighters the moment they opened their eyes; failure is not an option at this stage of either career. And, if the weigh-in is anything to go by no stone has been left unturned, both men looked great tipping the scales at 14st 3lbs, ready to deliver as they did 3 and half years ago.

continue

Cleverly v Bellew II – Undercard Preview

11/22/201411/21/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

The moment has finally arrived to put an end once and for all to a bitter domestic rivalry that stretches back to before the first time Nathan Cleverly stood in the opposite corner to Tony Bellew in Liverpool’s Echo Arena in May 2011.

We return to the same venue, but this time under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom banner, who has once more delivered one of deepest undercards in recent British boxing memory in support of one of the most eagerly anticipated fights of the year.

Here we will take a look at the mouthwatering list assembled that has boxing fans licking their lips.

continue