In October Cleverly travelled to Bellew’s back yard, defeating the Scouser via a Majority Decision in a candidate for Fight Of The Year. On Saturday Bellew defended his British title by defeating former European champion Danny McIntosh and he followed it up by claiming he wanted a rematch with the Welshman.

Cleverly responded, “I expected him to call me out; it’s a fight that I want again whether he called me out or not. The last fight was an excellent fight and a real top class fight. A rematch is too big not to happen again in the future!”

He continued, “I’d like the fight again because I want to put the record straight and there’s a lot of public demand for a rematch. A lot of people are asking for it, it’s a fight that I want to give to the fans and myself and show again that I’m the best in Britain.”

For the first fight at the Echo Arena , Bellew claimed it was there because he had a following of 10,000 people but Cleverly believes Bellew needs him to re-do those numbers.

He talked figures, “When I fought Bellew there were 10,000 people in the Echo Arena, when he fights McIntosh there’s only a few thousand (3,000) people there and when I fought Karpency at the C.I.A in Cardiff there was a sell-out capacity crowd (5,000).”

“It just shows that a lot more hype is generated around my fights. I think myself and Bellew, especially after the first fight which was an excellent fight, have now got potential to sell out a stadium. The selling power of that fight will be superb and it’s inevitable.” said Cleverly.

“When you have a look at the past, with the likes of Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank, mine and Tony Bellew’s rivalry could eclipse that in the future. We’ve got a great rivalry and we can both fight to back it up. I’m an undefeated fighter and I’m only 25 years of age so there’s so much more to come from me and someone like Tony Bellew brings out the best in me.”

The first fight captured the public’s imagination due to several high profile comments and incidents between the pair, since then Bellew has continued to publicly insult Cleverly who’s remained tight lipped about it until now.

He said, “I’ve not bothered getting involved in any bravado since the fight. I went to Liverpool, in his backyard at only 24 years of age and walked the walk. I won the fight and decided to leave it at that, I didn’t bother mouthing off after the fight and rubbing it in Bellew’s face.”

“Obviously I’ve had a lot of it back though, I’ve heard he’s still talking a lot and having a dig at me but I just wanted to by-pass that and not get involved because I’d rather leave it all for the boxing ring.”

Admitting that it comes with the territory, Cleverly continued, “We always will have a rivalry because we’re in the same weight division with the same aims. I’ve got a world title and I’ll always be a target for him and any other fighter, I’ve got to keep it and it’s inevitable that I’ll be sought after, I expect that and enjoy the mantle of that.”

Many critics commented that Bellew’s destruction of McIntosh on Saturday was a career best win and it’s a notion Cleverly agreed with.  He complimented Bellew, saying, “I thought he performed excellent. From the first bell he looked sharp, hungry, focused. Technically he looked good and he just took McIntosh apart because he’s a different level.”

Now 25, at 21 Cleverly travelled to London to fight McIntosh on a rival promoters show and 3 weeks notice – he knocked McIntosh down 4 times en-route to a 7^th round stoppage win and he believes it’s performances like these that show his and Bellew’s capability.

“We’ve both done a good job on Danny McIntosh, who’s a good fighter and that just shows the level that myself and Bellew are on and where we belong. There’s no doubt that we’re world level fighters.”

Whether they meet in the ring again remains to be seen but Cleverly has put the court back into Bellew’s court. Something for sure though is that it won’t be Cleverly’s next fight which he says should be a big fight.

Cleverly commented, “It’s looking like it could be my mandatory fight next, if not it’s a unification fight so my next fight is guaranteed to be a big fight. We’ll see what the score is soon, I’m definitely open to options. I just want to be involved in good fights against the best.”

Promoter of both, Frank Warren, said on Sunday that “There are lots of options out there for Nathan” and “We are talking other names or the WBO may order a mandatory defence, I don’t know yet.”

However, Warren said that it’s Bellew who’s making a rematch unlikely.

He said, “I had a lengthy discussion with Nathan about Bellew but Tony says he doesn’t want to fight on BoxNation.”

“I don’t understand that. Bellew is still under contract and I delivered him a world title fight in his home town and I promised if it was a close fight there could be a rematch.

“It’s one of those fights that can and should be made but it would have to be on our channel.”

Inspired by family and friends who have suffered from cancer, 47-year-old John has taken unpaid time off work and will return home in September with 100% of the proceeds going to the chosen charities of Ty Hafan Children’s Hospice and Velindre Cancer Centre.

A married father of 2, John left the Welsh Assembly’s Senedd in Cardiff this morning heading to the Turkish capital of Istanbul and the self-funded voyage will include an average distance of around 100km a day and 600km a week, with 1 day off a week.

Sleeping rough in a tent, John won’t be aided by a support vehicle throughout his journey.

Everyone at Team Clev supports John’s amazing effort and we urge everyone to please give what they can.

You can follow John’s progress on Twitter @10000kChallenge.
To support John’s cause visit: http://10000kchallenge.org.uk
To donate to John’s cause visit: http://10000kchallenge.org.uk/donate/

Thank-you.

Image from Rocksalt Photography and Peacock Media Group (PMG).

The unbeaten Welsh star was scheduled to face Kosovan Krasniqi on Saturday 28th April at the Royal Albert Hall in London, but has been unable to train for his fourth title defence.

Hatfield’s Olympic star Billy Joe Saunders, who was chief support on the card, will now replace Cleverly and headline the first night of professional championship boxing to be held at the world famous venue in nearly 13 years when he takes on Tony Hill for the Vacant English Middleweight title.

Joint top of the bill on the show will see Chislehurst’s Sam Webb in a final eliminator for the British Light-Middleweight Championship against Manchester’s hard-hitting Matthew Hall.

A devastated Cleverly said, “I’ve been unable to train because I’ve been laid up in bed with a viral infection and there’s not enough time to make up what I’ve missed in training to make sure I’m fully fit,”

“I’ve taken the advice of my doctor and been told to fully rest before attempting to start training again,”

“I’m really disappointed because I was looking forward to being the first fighter to bring boxing back to the Royal Albert Hall in over a decade and the first of the century,”

“It was a big night for me as Hopkins was facing Dawson on the same night and I was looking to do a good job on Krasniqi to get a fight with the winner,”

“I’m sorry for my fans, but I’m happy that the show will go on and a great talent like Billy Joe Saunders will now be topping the card along with Sam Webb and Matthew Hall which looks like a cracking fight.”

Saunders, the Southern Area Middleweight champion, said, “This is a great chance for me to shine on the show and show my potential,”

“I’m Britain’s next star in the making and to now headline the Royal Albert Hall is dream come true for me and I will put on a fight to remember against Hill.”

Promoter Frank Warren added, “It’s such a shame that Cleverly has been hit with a viral infection and at a crucial time in his training and career,”

“He is unable to fight and he now needs to have a good rest, get himself healthy and resume training before we look to reschedule his title defence,”

“However, Billy Joe Saunders, who is one of the best young talents in Britain right now, is hungry and ready to prove that he is next big thing and this is the perfect occasion for him to do this.”

The rest of the card features some of the best talent in Britain including unbeaten welterweight Bradley Skeete; hard-hitting super-middleweight Frank Buglioni, light-welterweight Bradley Saunders; welterweights Freddie Turner and Dean Byrne.

He said, “Ideally, I would have taken more time off after the last fight but as soon as the opportunity to fight at the Royal Albert Hall came up it would have been silly to turn it down.”

“I feel comfortable with how training’s been,” said Cleverly. “My last fight was only eight weeks from this one so my fitness is still there from the last training camp and it’s just a matter of adding to that.

“If I keep topping my fitness up, keep things ticking over and most importantly keep mentally focused I know I’ll win this fight. Once I concentrate 100 per cent, I know that for a fact.”

With talk of a summer unification rife, Cleverly was keen to make the point that he isn’t over-looking his opponent, Robin Krasniqi.

“It’s easy to get complacent in boxing so it’s important I focus on one fight at a time. This fight is crucial.”

“It’s a world title fight so anything can happen. I have to be careful and be at the top of my game to keep my dream of fighting Bernard Hopkins in the summer alive.

Clev gym-mate Williams to appear on Selby show

It was also announced at the press conference that Barry’s Lee Selby will defend his British and Commonwealth titles at the Newport Centre on May 25th.

Highly rated middleweight prospect Liam Williams will make his third professional appearance on the undercard – he shares the same trainers as WBO world light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly and they have sparred many rounds together.

Also on the show are Welsh prospects; Tobias Webb, Craig Evans, Lewis Rees and Francis Luke Robinson.

As the 4^th defence of his WBO world light-heavyweight title against Robin Krasniqi approaches, Nathan Cleverly believes that keeping active and fighting regularly will be the key to success in 2012.

Cleverly said, “Keeping active will be the key for me. In 2008 and 2009 when I was active, I was rolling out the victories with knockout performances.”

“So, it looks like it does work and hopefully I can repeat that pattern for this year and start reeling off great victories, exciting performances and push on in my quest for unification of the titles.”

In the period that Cleverly talks about, he enjoyed 6 wins with 5 knockouts as he won British and Commonwealth titles from October 08 to October 09 and he plans to keep just as busy in 2012.

“I think it’s going to be a busy year, to be honest. Obviously, this is my 2nd fight of 2012, we’re off to a good start and the plan seems to be in place for a busy year. We’re sticking by it and it’s good signs so far.”

When Cleverly enters the ring at the historic Royal Albert Hall on April 28^th it’ll just be 8 weeks since his last fight and the Welshman revealed that he had no qualms about fighting so soon after his last fight.

He said, “I was up for this straight away, as soon as I heard about it I wanted it. Basically, I think with it being so close to my last fight I can take my fitness and conditioning from the last fight to this fight.”

“It’s a matter of just keeping the momentum going, with my training I need to keep ticking over and I’ll be more than fighting fit.”

Able to carry his physical fitness across to a new training camp, Cleverly stressed that it’s his mental focus that’s important to sustain too.

Cleverly opened, “Training’s been pretty much full from the very start. What’s important is that mentally I get my head on it.”

“I’ve had a nice relax from boxing, a good chill out and time off to enjoy myself. But now it’s important in training that I get mentally back into fight and training mode and focus on the fight. It’s vital that mentally I switch back on.”

Despite initial opposition to boxing, the first boxing to take place at the venue was in 1918 between The British Empire and The American Services as soldiers and sailors battled each other. A few years later in 1921, Edward VIII Prince of Wales was ringside to witness Welsh great Jimmy Wilde face Pete Harman.

Former world light-heavyweight world champion Georges Carpentier and Australian champion George Cook in 1922 brought in a record £14,000 which at the time was one of the largest Box Office takings. When bouts with prize money were allowed it attracted many foreign greats, including Italian heavyweight and former world champion Primo Carnera who beat Reggie Meen at the Hall in 1930 via 2^nd round knockout.

The most famous boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, didn’t fight a competitive fight at the Hall but he appeared in 2 exhibition bouts in 1971 and 1979. An opponent of Ali and a British treasure, Henry Cooper, graced the Hall on 4 occasions between 1955 and 1965.

1995 saw Prince Naseem Hamed defeat Juan Polo Perez on his rise to world level. Future world champion Nigel Benn fought at the Hall many times, most notably for the Commonwealth middleweight title.

Two of Britain’s most loved heavyweights and former world champions both made their debuts at the Hall, Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno. Lewis fought at the Hall 7 times, the highlights were knocking out Glenn McCrory in round 2 to defend his British and European title and then to win the British title outright whilst also defending the Commonwealth title with a win over Derek Williams. After making his debut there in 1982, Frank Bruno fought at the Hall 15 times and won all of those fights by knockout.

The Hall has been a happy hunting ground for Welsh fighter with world featherweight champion Howard Winestone appeared at the hall in 1967, defeating America’s Richard Sue on points. In 1981 it was host to Colin Jones’ British and Commonwealth title welterweight rematch with Kirkland Laing, Jones won via 9th round knockout. Joe Calzaghe was the last Welshman to fight at the venue in 1995 when he defeated Stephen Wilson in 8 rounds to become British champion.

The last world championship to be contested at the Royal Albert Hall was between Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera and Paul Lloyd in 1999. Also on the show that night was a British heavyweight title fight between Julius Francis and Danny Williams and a young Ricky Hatton learning his trade.

Boxing has remained absent from the Royal Albert Hall since then after nearby residents won a High Court order to end licensing approval but the issue has been resolved following a Court of Appeal decision to overturn that decision, paving the way for Cleverly to take boxing back to the historic venue.

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.

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.

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.

For just £10 per month BoxNation offers unbeatable value for money for all fight fans. To subscribe to BoxNation simply go to www.boxnation.com and hit the “Subscribe Now” button and choose your subscription package. Simple!

Cardiff City FC are running a unique competition to win two VIP passes to Nathan Cleverly’s next fight at the Royal Albert Hall in London against Robin Krasniqi.

Cleverly defends his WBO world light-heavyweight title for the 4th time on the same day that Cardiff City face Crystal Palace away from home.

To be in win a chance of winning, all you need to do is answer the following question:

Q. Who is Nathan Cleverly’s promoter?
A) Frank Warren B) Don King C) Frank Maloney

Text your answer to 88442 with the prefix of bluebirds, eg: bluebirds a to 88442. Texts cost 25p plus your network charge. This competition ends 7th April, 2012 at 23:59.

Tickets, priced at £40, £50, £75, £150 and £200, are available from Ticketmaster (0844 844 0444) and www.FrankWarren.tv.

For details about the local pick up points and coach services in South Wales, Team Clev fans are advised to get in touch with Carl Jones (07976184158), Lawrence Porch (07768215599). Anyone wishing to purchase using PayPal please contact Lawrence.

It will be broadcasted live and exclusively on BoxNation (Sky ch456, Virgin Media ch546). 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.

For just £10 per month BoxNation offers unbeatable value for money for all fight fans. To subscribe to BoxNation go to www.boxnation.tv and hit the “Subscribe Now” button and choose your subscription package.

Today in London, promoter Frank Warren today announced that WBO world light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly will be the man to take boxing back to the prestigious Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 28th April.

Cleverly will make the 4th defence of his title against Serbia’s Robin Krasniqi and Warren feels that Cleverly’s the perfect man to take boxing back to the historic venue which has been without professional boxing for a decade.

He said, “Nathan’s only one of two British world champions. When you look at what’s been going on in the last few months, he’s certainly one of the fighters us Brits and Welsh can be proud of. He’s absolutely a consummate professional, both in and out of the ring, he’s a credit to the sport.”

“I feel  that we get a few problems now and again in boxing but he’s one of the guys that we should be looking for the good in the sport and what boxing can do for the community because this guy’s got it all.”

Krasniqi, a German based Serbian, has a record of 37 wins (13 via knockout) and just 2 defeats – which were at the start of his career. Krasniqi is ranked no.4 by the WBO and he last fought in January, scoring a 12th round stoppage victory over Hakim Zoulikha.

The last world championship to be contested at the Royal Albert Hall was between Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera and Paul Lloyd in 1999. On the under-card that night was a British heavyweight title fight between Julius Francis and Danny Williams and a young Ricky Hatton learning his trade.

“He’s fast becoming one of the most accomplished world champions around. There’s a lot more to come from him. I think we’ve only seen about 80% of what he’s got, there’s much more to come when you think of his age.”

Warren also commented, “We’re at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall and it couldn’t be anyone better than Nathan to open the hall up to boxing.”

“For boxing it’s great. It’s the most prestigious venue, it may not be the biggest venue but without a doubt it’s the most prestigious venue in the country when you think of all the great British champions that have fought there.”

Cleverly is thrilled to add his name to the superb list of boxers to fight at the Royal Albert Hall. The who’s who of British boxing have fought there – including; Lennox Lewis, Naseem Hamed, Nigel Benn, Joe Calzaghe, Frank Bruno and Ricky Hatton.

Cleverly said, “It’s great to be the first boxer in over 10 years to open up the doors to the famous venue to boxing again.”

“It’s a who’s who of boxing who have fought at the Albert Hall and to add my name alongside greats like Lennox Lewis, Naseem Hamed, Nigel Benn and Joe Calzaghe is a real honour and dream,”

Cleverly has a formidable record in London, winning all 5 of his fights in Britain’s capital by knockout, and the 25-year-old can’t wait to return to a ring in London.

He said, “I love boxing in London and I’m over the moon that Frank has put on my world title defence at the iconic landmark and it will be the start of many big shows,”

“It’s a good omen that Joe (Calzaghe) was the last Welshman to box there for a title when he beat Stephen Wilson for the British super-middleweight title in 1995 so I’ll be looking to carry on the Welsh winning run there,”

Bernard Hopkins defends his WBC world light-heavyweight title later that night in a rematch with Chad Dawson which will be broadcasted on BoxNation. Cleverly will have an interest in that fight too, he said, “It’s a great showcase for the light-heavyweight division. If the winners come through in a good fashion it potentially sets up a great fight for later in the year, a good unification fight.”

The undercard includes a British light-middleweight final eliminator between Sam Webb and Matthew Hall and appearances from Billy Joe Saunders, Frank Buglioni, Bradley Skeete and Bradley Saunders. Further details will be announced soon.

Tickets, priced at £40, £50, £75, £150 and £200, are available from Ticketmaster (0844 844 0444) and www.FrankWarren.tv.

For details about the local pick up points and coach services in South Wales, Team Clev fans are advised to get in touch with Carl Jones (07976184158), Lawrence Porch (07768215599). Anyone wishing to purchase using PayPal please contact Lawrence.

It will be broadcasted live and exclusively on BoxNation (Sky ch456, Virgin Media ch546). 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.

For just £10 per month BoxNation offers unbeatable value for money for all fight fans. To subscribe to BoxNation go to www.boxnation.tv and hit the “Subscribe Now” button and choose your subscription package

Everyone at Team Clev are delighted to announce the launch of the Official Nathan Cleverly Store on Ebay.

Fans of WBO world light-heavyweight world champion Nathan Cleverly showed their amazing support at the sell-out homecoming show last month and now we have provided the limited edition merchandise online to make it more freely available for our brilliant fans.

Numerous items of merchandise are currently available. This includes: signed memorabilia, t-shirts and bandanas. There’s much more to come in the coming months too.

If you have any queries, please email lawrence@nathancleverly.co.uk.

You can enter the Official Nathan Cleverly Store here.