By James Slater – Top British promoter Frank Warren has another great value for money show on the way for U.K fight fans. An exact date and venue are still to be confirmed for the doubleheader that is Nathan Cleverly Vs. Jurgen Braehmer, for the WBO light-heavyweight title, and John Murray Vs. Kevin Mitchell, with Warren’s latest signing defending his European lightweight crown – but April 2nd in London is looking likely.
According to Warren’s official website, these two mouth-watering match-ups will definitely go ahead, with all four fighters eager for action..
Unbeaten 23-year-old Cleverly, 21-0(10), captured the interim WBO belt last year, in a thriller with Karo Murat, but the Welshman says he will not consider himself as champ until he beats southpaw Braehmer.
“I always thought that I would get my shot at Braehmer,” Cleverly said. “There was talk that he might be stripped or that he would vacate, but I never wanted that to happen. He’s the [WBO] champion and the only way I would consider myself a true champion is if I took the belt from him, rather than picking up the vacant title.”
But can the maths graduate beat the seriously-tough German with the impressive 36-2(29) pro record; a man who has never been stopped?
Last time out, against late-change opponent Nadjib Mohammedi, Cleverly looked anything but impressive, with some fans even suggesting he didn’t deserve the points win he picked up. Certainly, if “Clev” fights like THAT against 32-year-old Braehmer, he is in trouble. But that was just a genuine off-night for the new star from Wales, and the late change in opponent clearly affected Cleverly. On April 2nd (or on whatever date the fight takes place) we will see a 100-percent focused, ready to rumble Nathan Cleverly – and against a ring-rusty, if formidable Braehmer, this will result in a very good fight.
The supporting bout may be even better when it comes to raw action, though.
Unbeaten John Murray, 26-years-old and 30-0 (18), will defend his Euro belt for the second time, against the returning Kevin Mitchell. This fight has “fireworks” written all over it, as both men have given us their share of thrillers in the past. Mitchell, slightly older than Murray and 31-1(23) as a pro, will be having his first fight back since being outclassed by Australian warrior Michael Katsidis in May of last year.
Some tough fight for the Londoner to come back with, Murray-Mitchell is as close to a 50-50 match-up as you could find. Manchester battler Murray may be less versatile than Mitchell (who, we must not forget, boxed a near master class in out-pointing the dangerous Breidis Prescott just over a year ago), but he has a huge heart and a take-no-for-an-answer attitude. Can Murray drag Mitchell into a war? If he can, the unbeaten man will have a very good chance of staying that way. This really is a must-win fight for both guys!