Nathan Cleverly

He beat his mandatory last night!!

Anybody care??

No

Sad state of affairs when a UK world champion doesnt even talked about the day after a world title fight....poor mans Joe, poor mans Joe

He's a F****n rat....

He's not really a world champion is he though

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:He's a F****n rat....

WHU, he is SO!!!! Steffan told me.

If anybody watched, how did he look? Was it close? etc.

Krasniqi had his moments but it was comfortable.

Was it as tough as his self proclaimed hardest fight EVER with the nurse??

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/wales/22238831

At least he's targeting unification. Can only hope it happens.

Please not Hopkins..........The usual cowardly way for Warren to get his fighter a name...

Get a half dead legend.........After all If you beat one you become one in Warren's eyes..

Duty281 wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/wales/22238831

At least he's targeting unification. Can only hope it happens.

Hes been banging on about a unification fight for about 2 years......did you not see the emails Warren sent to every champion offering them a fight and nobody got back to him. Its hard to unify when everyone in boxing is scared of you

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Please not Hopkins..........The usual cowardly way for Warren to get his fighter a name...

Get a half dead legend.........After all If you beat one you become one in Warren's eyes..

He has to come to the UK though, afterall, Cleverly is a superstar here......

In fairness clev is pretty good. Great engine and work rate. Not a big puncher and will have serious issues when faced with a jab. Hope he leaves Frank and gets the fights his talents deserves.

azania wrote:In fairness clev is pretty good. Great engine and work rate. Not a big puncher and will have serious issues when faced with a jab. Hope he leaves Frank and gets the fights his talents deserves.

If he was an average no mark holding a world title then these soft defences would go largely unnoticed but he does have talent as he showed against Murat, that fight should have propelled him but he's gone backwards since.

Oh no we are all slapping Clev and shock of all shock..Azania comes on and praises him!!

Will anybody bite???

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Oh no we are all slapping Clev and shock of all shock..Azania comes on and praises him!!

Will anybody bite???

Oh yes. Lets all have a go at boxer x. Anyone who doesn't is obviously a wum.

Twit

Imperial Ghosty wrote:

azania wrote:In fairness clev is pretty good. Great engine and work rate. Not a big puncher and will have serious issues when faced with a jab. Hope he leaves Frank and gets the fights his talents deserves.

If he was an average no mark holding a world title then these soft defences would go largely unnoticed but he does have talent as he showed against Murat, that fight should have propelled him but he's gone backwards since.

All his defences have been soft. Warren has to be held responsible.

He an embarrassment to world champs, the level of opposition he's been facing is barely above domestic level since he's been champ

It annoys me more that he has called out Hopkins and ONLY Hopkins, jeez it's not like LHW is void of talent

He should fight the winner of the fight between Bute and Pascal

I'd like to see him against a heavy handed fighter like Cloud or the Euro guy who beat Campillo like an errant school child.

Saying that, I can't see anything worth excitement with Clev, just think it's interesting to see durability vs offense.

BoxingFan88 wrote:He should fight the winner of the rematch between Bute and Pascal

Even better.

John Bloody Wayne wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:He should fight the winner of the rematch between Bute and Pascal

Even better.

In Canada as well, that would be great.

Even Cloud would be a fight to go for, now he has lost to Hopkins they could pick him up cheap enough. But thats too risky for Frank

John Bloody Wayne wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:He should fight the winner of the rematch between Bute and Pascal

Even better.

The rematch? So they have to fight twice before Cleverly is eligible? Well, there are a lot of nurses out there who can keep him ticking over until then.

bhb001 wrote:

John Bloody Wayne wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:He should fight the winner of the rematch between Bute and Pascal

Even better.

The rematch? So they have to fight twice before Cleverly is eligible? Well, there are a lot of nurses out there who can keep him ticking over until then.

Corrected before you pointed it out :P

Glen Johnson isn't getting that much for his pension, maybe Frank could buzz him next

Reborn-DeeMcK-Reborn wrote:Glen Johnson isn't getting that much for his pension, maybe Frank could buzz him next

LOL, former world champion who stopped the Great Roy Jones in his prime. Why not?

BoxingFan88 wrote:

bhb001 wrote:

John Bloody Wayne wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:He should fight the winner of the rematch between Bute and Pascal

Even better.

The rematch? So they have to fight twice before Cleverly is eligible? Well, there are a lot of nurses out there who can keep him ticking over until then.

Corrected before you pointed it out :P

Bo11ocks. Was reading the quoted passages!!

Anyhow, isn't it getting a little predictable " now I want one of the big names" chant immediately following a nothing fight, followed by nothing for a three months, then promise of something big and finally delivering the square root of FA ... and repeat.

Bob Foster is still alive..

what about that dead guy who moved up the WBO rankings??

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Bob Foster is still alive..

bhb001 wrote:Anyhow, isn't it getting a little predictable " now I want one of the big names" chant immediately following a nothing fight, followed by nothing for a three months, then promise of something big and finally delivering the square root of FA ... and repeat.

To be fair THIS time he beat his mandatory challenger with a fair bit to spare, the word is the next fight is Brahaemer anyway...

Spot on BF, WBO requested he face back to back mandatories.

How did chisora get on?

azania wrote:How did chisora get on?

Don't ask....

That bad?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/wales/22238831

See the BBC have got the "Clev/BHop Summer Fight" template out. Think iv read the same article after every Cleverly fight since he won the belt

azania wrote:That bad?

Think of the worst performance in the world and then it was even worse than that!

I guess what annoys me most about Cleverly's situation is that, if there was ever a time to really give cleaning out Light-Heavy a good go, then this is it. The division isn't dead, but it's not red-hot either and the chance to really put his name forward as one of the weight's top standard bearers is so much greater now than it would have been, say, ten or twelve years back when Jones, Michalczewski, Tarver, Johnson (both Reggie and Glencoffe), Gonzalez etc were around.

And yet, he and his team just haven't gone out there and tried to take it. Very frustrating to say the least because the likes of Cloud, Campillo (out of the frame now, but you get my drift), Shumenov, Pascal etc, while all decent (very decent in some cases) are also winnable fights for Nathan, and ones which would give that WBO belt of his some much-needed credibility. Granted, Hopkins on his last showing would know a bit too much for him and Dawson, when he's got his brain plugged in, can really turn it on, but Cleverly's highly unlikely to be disgraced in either of them and actually taking the fights in any case would still be fantastic for his career.

But still, all we're left with is another disappointing spectacle and the same old 'I want Hopkins and the other champions' talk. Perhaps he does, but when the same statement has been released after each of his fights over the past two years and none of it has even come close to materializing, even Cleverly himself must accept that criticism is inevitable.

I like Cleverly and I've given him as much benefit of the doubt as I can, but he and / or his team need to deliver on this big talk, and soon.

I think Cleverly looked decent enough last night. He does certain things well. When hes forcing a fight on the front fight he has a nice aray of punches, combinations to head and body, dangerous when he has his man on the ropes and opens up and looked a little quicker in handspeed than I remembered. Hes can be a little easy to find himself but seems to have a decent chin. When hes not pressing the action though he isnt half the fighter. I dont think he can box at all well on the back foot. He seems to be at his best when hes on the inside.

I thought Cleverly looked very good last night, he needs to step up the competition now though.

BoxingFan88 wrote:

bhb001 wrote:Anyhow, isn't it getting a little predictable " now I want one of the big names" chant immediately following a nothing fight, followed by nothing for a three months, then promise of something big and finally delivering the square root of FA ... and repeat.

To be fair THIS time he beat his mandatory challenger with a fair bit to spare, the word is the next fight is Brahaemer anyway...

He refused to fight his mandatory a year ago and nothing happened because of it. He chose instead to fight Krasnqi, recognised as the weaker opponent at the time, but this fell through because of injury. Krasnqi now becomes mandatory. Excuse me for smelling a rat in all this.

azania wrote:

Imperial Ghosty wrote:

azania wrote:In fairness clev is pretty good. Great engine and work rate. Not a big puncher and will have serious issues when faced with a jab. Hope he leaves Frank and gets the fights his talents deserves.

If he was an average no mark holding a world title then these soft defences would go largely unnoticed but he does have talent as he showed against Murat, that fight should have propelled him but he's gone backwards since.

All his defences have been soft. Warren has to be held responsible.

this is the thing that winds me up about clev the most. hiding behind warren, he's a bright lad. he's got a maths degree for crying out loud yet still spouts all this nonsense all the time while everybody is laughing at him and isnt held responsible for who he fights at all?

on the fight krasnqi looked rubbish, clev even with his power should have got rid of him within 5

Good article on the journal about Clev:

By Steven Bateson

WBO Light Heavyweight Champion, Nathan Cleverly has told the world that he is ready for the “big fights” at this stage of his career, his twelve round unanimous points victory over game, but limited, Robin Krasniqi on Saturday night didn’t add much weight to his claims in what was a very ordinary performance from the Welshmen.

In the lead up to this world title bout, Cleverly had promised to “smash” his opponent but that was far the reality when they met in the ring, headlining Frank Warren’s “Rule Britannia” show, live on Boxnation.

Cleverly, now 26-0 (12 KO’s), started in the ascendency and even had his mandatory challenger in trouble as early as the first round, a right hand to the temple wobbling the legs of Krasniqi. It didn’t seem like this bout was going to take too long at all but Krasniqi showed guts to stay in there and even had success of his own with a frequent overhand right.

Rounds two, three, four and five followed a very similar formula with Cleverly the much busier, constantly backing his opponent up on the ropes, and working the body whenever the opportunity arose. Every time a shot landed to the midsection of Krasniqi his legs dipped and it seemed like the fight’s end was in sight, but Cleverly didn’t follow up as well as he should have done, instead choosing to stay out of range, a strange tactic for a man who claims to have a “granite” chin.

Good chin or not, the one aspect of Cleverly’s game that needs improvement is his defense because his hands are far too low, almost inviting his opponent to land punches. It is lucky for the WBO ruler that Krasniqi doesn’t possess world class punching prowess because from the sixth round onwards he found the mark on Cleverly’s chin on several occasions, something that Nathan’s team will want to work on in the gym.

Most of the mid-rounds were still being chalked up to the champion, based on workrate alone, but his performance was leaving a lot to the imagination, leaning up against Krasniqi and constantly trying to find a home for his right uppercut, this wasn’t what the crowd was expecting from the man who had promised so much at the previous days’ press conference.

The body shots were key to Cleverly securing a thirteenth stoppage of his career, but he chose to ignore this tactic for long spells, instead opting to meet Krasniqi head on and trading off in the centre of the ring, which lead to him shipping a lot more punches than he should have done in this contest.

It is hard to tell if it was a lack of motivation, fighting such an unknown, that was causing Cleverly’s lull but much more will be expected of the university graduate when he steps up in class, a potential Autumn showdown with the legend that is Bernard Hopkins will require much more focus than what was displayed last night.

The championship rounds all belonged to the champion as well, without him doing anything outstanding. He was letting his hands go, pinning Krasniqi on the ropes, and scoring with combinations, consisting of a left jab, right uppercut and the occasional body shot, but nothing decisive enough to call a halt to the proceedings.

Krasniqi was loading up, looking for one big punch that he did not possess, but Cleverly was now finding it easy to avoid his attack, and the champion ended the twelfth round on the front foot, the decision was never in question.

Scorecards of 120-108 x2 and 119-109 proved Cleverly’s dominance but analysts will show that more is needed if the Cefn Fforest fight wants to be considered a true challenger to the elite names such as Hopkins, Dawson and Pascal.

A second mandatory challenge awaits Cleverly in the form of Jurgen Braehmer, the man Cleverly took the WBO Championship from when Braehmer was forced to vacate, and then the world beckons for Nathan. His defense needs to be tighter and a better gameplan for his opposition needs to be arranged in the future, but he has time on his side, it is still unknown whether he has the capability to stamp his authority in the light-heavy weight ranks.

Frank Warren needs to start matching the WBO champion against the best, because until he does there will always be question marks over how good Cleverly really is.

The rest of the “Rule Britannia” bill featured a plethora of British talent, a mixture of the inexperienced, rising stars and the old guard looking for one final moment in the sun.

Liam Walsh, the undefeated European Lightweight Champion, was matched with former world champion, Scott Harrison, and on paper this looked like a very tasty proposition, Harrison’s last chance saloon.

But the man from Cromer was too skilled and quick for Harrison, punishing him with body shots and hurtful hooks and jabs to the head. Harrison’s face was swollen and bloody as the ten round bout was called to an end, all three judges unanimous in their verdict (98-92 97-93x2) and Walsh’s impressive run continued.

Harrison will need to evaluate what he wants from his career now, perhaps even contemplate retirement, whilst Walsh can continue to build toward the world tier, and maybe even a shot at the man he was supposed to face last December, WBO Champion Ricky Burns.

Another fighter who finds himself on the cusp of the world level is the new Commonwealth Super Flyweight Champion, Paul Butler. Having admitted that he had never seen his opponent, Yaqub Kareem, in action before it could have been expected that Butler would need a few rounds to figure his rival out, but that was not the case.

The ever-improving Butler added another impressive stoppage to his CV as he punished his Nigerian foe with sickening body shots throughout, keeping Kareem on his heels at all times. Kareem was practically running away at one point but he couldn’t stay out of range for long and after five one-sided rounds the barrage finally took its toll, prompting the referee to jump in and stop the action.

Paul Butler (11-0 with 6 KO’s) seems to be growing in stature and power at a fantastic time, the better the opposition the better his performances and the future looks extremely bright for the Ellesmere Port fighter, is a world title tilt on the horizon?

Another man who will hope a second shot at a world title is forthcoming is Dereck Chisora, the controversial heavyweight fighter returning after nine months of inaction due to a license suspension, who stopped Hector Alfredo Avila in the ninth round of a scheduled ten with a series of body punches.

It was a very scrappy and disjointed affair, neither man in great shape, but Chisora was always on the front foot and this warm-up victory was never in question. Chisora (now 16-4 with 10 KO’s) will need to show a lot more desire and skills, both of which he possesses, in future bouts to prove that he deserves to be listed in contention for domestic or world honours.

Frank Buglioni moved to 9-0 when he stopped Darren McKenna in the third round of a scheduled eight, the super-middleweight fighter will need to be tested soon to see whether he has what it takes to step up into domestic contention.

Steve O’Meara won a turgid affair with Chas Symonds over six rounds (58-56) but was left badly cut after a clash of heads in the second rounds, he will face a spell on the sidelines after that.

The card also featured returns to action for Enzo Maccarinelli, scoring a TKO over Carl Wild in the sixth round of a scheduled six, and the highly touted Joey Murray, brother of John, who outpointed Dai Davies (78-76) in an eight round featherweight contest.

Joey Taylor knocked down, durable journeyman. Sid Razak on the way to a six round points victory (60-54) in a super featherweight division which extends his record to 2-0 and the card also featured talented Mitchell Smith, who destroyed Gavin Reid in one round with a big right hand and pushed his ledger to 6-0 (3KO’s) also in the super feather ranks.

All in all it was a good card from Warren and Boxnation, but there will be a welcomed call for more competitive fights for some of his charges. Fans want to see fighters taking risks, unfortunately there were not many of them on display, and 50-50 scraps, if Warren can deliver them then he can stay in contact with Matchroom and continue the fight for promotional dominance.


http://v2journal.com/16/post/2013/04/boxing-time-to-step-it-up.html.