CLEV’S LONG WAIT OVER
Welsh star Nathan aims to silence doubters
NATHAN CLEVERLY fights WBA light-heavyweight champ Juergen Braehmer tonight with a point to prove.
This is a bout that was supposed to have taken place five years ago.
And if he wins in the city of Neubrandenburg, north of Berlin, the 29-year-old Welshman believes he will become a two-time world champion.
But many will argue the validity of their contest being called a world title fight.
Puzzled
That is because Sergey Kovalev – who beat Cleverly in 2013 – holds the superior WBA ‘super’ crown in the same division as well as the WBO title he took from the Welshman and the IBF strap.
It’s another piece of bamboozling boxing politics which will leave even diehard fans puzzled and, more worryingly, put off.
“It’s an opportunity for me to live that dream again (of being a world champion),” said Cleverly.
“I did it once as a 24-year-old and here I am as a 29-year-old ready to relive it.”
But it is that title win when he was 24 that is still questioned. This fight should have happened in 2011 for the WBO light-heavyweight crown.
Cleverly went the correct route to reach the top by winning the British, Commonwealth and European titles before winning WBO eliminators to earn his shot at a world title. But then Braehmer, who was champion at the time, ran into problems with the law.
When he finally cleared it up in his homeland, he was due to defend against Cleverly in London on May 21, 2011, but did not travel, citing an eye injury as the reason.
Cleverly, who had won the interim belt in Braehmer’s absence, was elevated to full champion without having to throw a punch.
Instead of facing Braehmer, Cleverly faced Aleksy Kuziemski, a relative unknown who was ranked 11th with the WBO at the time, in his first defence.
There were four more defences, the best being against a still raw Tony Bellew, before Kovalev dethroned him.
Defeat by Bellew at cruiserweight followed before a return to lightheavyweight, his natural division, and a proud display despite a loss to Andrzej Fonfara last year.
So while it can be argued Cleverly is not conquering the world by fighting for the WBA ‘regular’ crown tonight, victory will at least solidify his status as an elite world champion. Whether it is two-time or not will continue to be debated.