Clev's WBO potential opponents

First topic message reminder :

New WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Nathan Cleverly said after his triumph on Saturday, “I’ll fight whoever, whatever is out there for me,”.

This is the Top 15 in the WBO. (Excluding Braehmer, who I'm sure will be added this month)

1 Dmitry Sukhotsky (Int-Cont) RUS
2 Braimah Kamoho (WBO Africa) GHA
3 Soulan Pownceby (Asia-Pacific) USA
4 Eduard Gutknecht GER
5 Marcus Vinicius de Oliveira (Latino) BRA
6 Tomas Kovacs (WBO Europe) SOL
7 Zsolt Erdei HUN
8 Kariz Kariuki (Oriental) KEN
9 Chad Dawson NZ
10 Karo Murat GER
11 Aleksy Kuziemski POL
12 Isaac Chilemba MAL
13 Denis Simcic SLO
14 Tony Bellew GB
15 Viacheslav Uzelkov UKR

Chad Dawson is a Kiwi according to the WBO.

I am a fan of Nathan and think he has great potential but Frank Warren will be rubbing his hands with glee at this list of contenders.
I defy anyone on here to know who all these guys are, without help from Boxrec.

Looks like Nathan could have a Calzaghe style reign, if he choses to just stick to the WBO.

I can see a fair few defences at home as Clevely needs to develop and Frank Warren will be the 1st to see that.

He'll grow a fanbase in Wales and quicker than Joe Calzaghe did. Calzaghe was unfortunate that his early title fights were mainly on Sky, now Sky has grown and is more accessible. (Plus the internet helps alot more)

The names on the list are poor, only a few that are possible defenses stand out while the rest are quck, easy defenses that can be made cheaply and that is music to Warrens ears.

I think Nathan has a helluva lot of potential though admit I'm likely to be biased but he still needs time and with that list he has it.

I haven't seen as much of him as I'd like to, Rob, but from what I have seen I can certainly agree with you about his potential. Seems a nice young fella, too. Hope he goes all the way.

HumanWindmill wrote:I haven't seen as much of him as I'd like to, Rob, but from what I have seen I can certainly agree with you about his potential. Seems a nice young fella, too. Hope he goes all the way.

He still has a way to go and I think he is still trying to find his own style of fighting. The time at 'Team Calzaghe' was still evident, a few fights ago, as he would sometimes throw a quick flurry of punches that weren't hard.( So he was reverting to type rather than the new team)
Under the new team he then started to try and use power more and got some success but I think he tried for the KO too hard, in many of his recent fights. Trying to force the Ko and getting tagged in the process.

He has the movement and variety of punches but is still neglecting his physical advantages and using the jab alot more. I do wonder if he needs a much more experienced coach rather than family in his corner.

He has all the talent and tools but will it take a defeat to get the best out of him.

I must get over to youtube and watch a few of the ones I missed, and in greater detail.

Certainly one for the future, methinks, and even if he does ship a loss along the way I don't suppose it will do him any harm. I'm not a great believer in the ' 0 ' and never was.

He just better steer clear of Hopkins for another couple of years yet