World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Light-Heavyweight Champion Nathan Cleverly’s chances of a showdown in the UK with American great Bernard Hopkins have been given a boost by Richard Schaefer CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.
Cleverly’s promoter Frank Warren and Schaefer, who promotes Hopkins, met in London last week to announce a big output deal for TV subscription channel BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546) and also discussed a fight between the rising young star of boxing and the oldest fighter ever to win a world a title.
The unbeaten Welshman must first come through his fourth title defence against WBO #4 ranked Robin Krasniqi on Saturday 28th April at the Royal Albert Hall and on the same night Hopkins faces Chad Dawson in a grudge rematch for the WBC World Light-Heavyweight title in Atlantic City, both fights will be televised live and exclusive on BoxNation.
Should both win their respective fights then a showdown could happen later this year.
Schaefer said, “I’ve talked to Bernard about Nathan and he said ‘Look, I’m used to fighting younger guys. Just keep bringing them on’.
“I went with Frank through the some numbers. Now I’ll have to go to Bernard and we’ll go through some numbers,”
“If the numbers which Frank has outlined to me hold true, I think there’s a good chance the fight could take place in the UK, absolutely,”
“We don’t want to jinx anything – Bernard has a very difficult fight ahead of him against Chad Dawson who’s a young, hungry fighter, so lets see what happens.
He added, “But definitely, if everything goes well, I would very much like to make that fight.”
Cleverly, 25, is excited by the talk of a fight with one of the greatest names in boxing, but is not letting it detract from his fight against the tough Kosovan who has never been stopped in 39 fights.
“Frank’s the best promoter out there and I leave all the business down to him, I’ll fight anyone he puts in front of me and it’s my job to keep winning,” Said Cleverly.
“It would be a dream to get Hopkins and I’m really buzzing with all the talk about fighting him, but the reality is I’m fighting Krasniqi first which is a very tough fight and if anything goes wrong then a fight against Hopkins will be out of the window,”
“It’s a crucial title defence for me and I’ve got to be at my best on the night against Krasniqi. I’ve got to win and win it in style to prove that I’m ready to challenge a great like Hopkins.”
The Royal Albert Hall show will also feature the Final Eliminator for the British Light-Middleweight title between Chislehurst’s Sam Webb and Manchester’s Matthew Hall; unbeaten Hatfield middleweight Billy Joe Saunders in a ten round contest; fast-rising super-middleweight Frank Buglioni – one of the hottest young talents around – who’s 3-0 with two first round stoppages; 2008 Olympian Bradley Saunders from Darlington follows up his successful pro-debut win with a six round contest at light-welterweight; welterweight prospect Bradley Skeete who’s unbeaten in six fights; plus top welterweights Dean Byrne and Freddie Turner.
Tickets priced at £40, £50, £75, £150 and £200 are available from Ticketmaster on 0844 844 0444 or ticketmaster.co.uk or online at www.royalalberthall.com and www.frankwarren.tv
Cleverly v Krasniqi and Hopkins v Dawson is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546) on Saturday 28th April from 7.30pm
BoxNation is the first dedicated subscription boxing TV channel in the UK to bring together the biggest names in amateur, domestic and international boxing with an unbeatable schedule of matches from across the globe.
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