Nathan Cleverley

Early career

Cleverley made his professional debut in July 2005 with a four-round victory over journeyman Ernie Smith at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh. and within a year he compiled a 6-0 winning book. However, his first serious fight came in October 2006 when he faced Tony Quigley from Liverpool at the MEN Arena in Manchester. The fight, which was on the undercard of the match between Joe Calzaghe and Sakio Bika, ended with a stoppage in the 5th round for Cleverley and brought Quigley his first professional defeat.

The next major test for young prospects occurred at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff a little over a year later, in September 2007, when Cleverley met tough Ugandan Joey Vegas. Slyly boasted a 10-0 record and Vegas 10-1 at the time. The fight ended with a grueling victory for the Welshman in 8 rounds in his most difficult fight to date. Speaking about the result on the BBC and referring to the sparring he got at the Enzo Calzaghe gym, Cleverley said: "I'm still young and won't reach my peak in the next eight years, but think how good it is that the wars I'm fighting now in the gym are making me for the future... I want to continue to develop, to achieve the British title, and then maybe the world crown in a couple of years."

Cleverley set himself the goal of fighting on the undercards of his stable mate Joe Calzaghe , and the fight in Vegas was one of the preliminary stages of Calzaghe 's fight for unification for the world title against Mikkel Kessler . However, the next stop was the real Vegas, Las Vegas, to support Calzaghe's attempt to win the light heavyweight belt in the Ring against American fighter Bernard Hopkins. For the first time in the history of professional fighting outside the UK, he faced an American opponent and beat Antonio Baker in 8 rounds.

In September 2008, the young boxer decided to leave the boxing club Enzo Calzaghe Newbridge, where he trained throughout his career and began training at his father's gym in South Wales. Speaking about his decision to leave the gym, Cleverley said: "I've been training with Enzo Calzaghe for six years since I was young, so leaving him was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make... Enzo is pretty much responsible for where I am in my career, and I can't thank him enough for what he's done for me." Cleverley was concerned about the litigation between promoter Frank Warren and his former stable mate Joe Calzaghe and added: "I can't risk my career... I take boxing very seriously and I want to become a world champion. Hopefully Frank can sort this out for me. "

Champion of the British Commonwealth and Great Britain

" I have worked hard for this, but this is just the beginning for me - I want to rule the world "

- Nathan Cleverley, performing after winning the Commonwealth title

In October 2008, Cleverley got a chance to win the vacant Commonwealth Light Heavyweight title, for the first time in his career at Everton Park. A sports center in Liverpool . His opponent was the experienced former British champion Tony Okey, whom he defeated on points in 12 rounds. Speaking after receiving his first belt, Cleverley said: "What an unforgettable night for me, winning the title is something I've dreamed of since childhood... I've worked hard on this, but this is just the beginning for me - I want to rule the world."

Skillfully defended his title just two months later, in December, against Kenyan Douglas Otieno. The African fighter, who entered the fight with a record of 18-1, could not compete with the Welshman and was stopped in the 4th round. In February 2009, he defended for the second time against another Kenyan, Samson Onyang won by knockout in the 1st round. On May 22, 2009, he won the second round against Billy Boyle for his third title defense.

The victory over Boyle gave Cleverley a chance to win the vacant British title on July 18, 2009 against the champion of England. 230>Danny McIntosh . The York Hall brawl saw Cleverley knock out McIntosh four times before the referee intervened to stop the fight in the 7th round, ensuring Cleverley could add Lonsdale's Belt to his Commonwealth. After the victory, Cleverley claimed the title of the best light heavyweight in the UK, despite the fact that his fellow Briton Clinton Woods was soon to travel to Florida to fight for the vacant IBF world title against Tavoris. Cloud. It's smart to say that whenever a fight can start between him and Woods, he will be ready for it. Former champion Woods lost the fight and immediately announced his retirement from boxing. On September 25, 2009, Cleverly was awarded the prestigious Young Boxer of the Year award by the Boxing Writers Club, losing by just one vote to British welterweight champion Kell Brook in the closest vote in the history of the award.

On October 9, 2009, Cleverley defended both belts for the first time against former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Courtney Fry. The fight at York Hall ended with a stoppage of the 8th round of Cleverley against a man who was a successful amateur. Even more important for the Welshman was the news that before the fight he was nominated for a fight for the European title and that any defeat to Fry would have nullified these plans.

European champion

"And also as decisive figures, I also had to fight for the British, Commonwealth and European titles, and most of the evenings I hit a heavy bag and did numerous push-ups and squats "

- Nathan Cleverley, about studying mathematics as a professional boxer

On February 13, 2010, Cleverley fought Antonio Brancalion at Wembley Arena in an attempt to win the vacant European Light Heavyweight title. The fight was won in the fifth round, the victory was achieved by knockout after two previous knockouts in the previous round. By winning, he became only the seventh Welshman to hold British, Commonwealth and European titles. In addition to the titles, Cleverley studied mathematics at Cardiff University during the same period, eventually receiving a 2:2 degree. Speaking after receiving his degree in May 2010, he stated that studying and boxing combined had an impact, saying: "All the other students in my course were able to fully focus on getting their degree... But also as in the calculations. I also had to fight for the British, Commonwealth and European titles, and most of the evenings I had to fight against a heavy bag and do numerous push-ups and squats."

Smart at Cardiff City Stadium in Wales in August 2010.

On September 18, 2010, Cleverley faced undefeated Karo Murat at the LG Arena in Birmingham in the WBO light heavyweight eliminator. the title. Skilfully moved one step closer to the match with the current champion Jurgen Brahmer by technical knockout in the ninth round to win the fight, which was one of the main events at Frank Warren's Magnificent Seven tournament. Murat, the former European super middleweight champion, struggled to match the Welshman after an explosive start, and after being shaken in the 9th, the referee decided to stop the fight before the start of the 10th.

Cleverly vs . Mohammadi

Cleverly earned an interim version of the belt on December 11, 2010 in an unimpressive contest with Frenchman Najib Mohammadi at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. The victory is 115-112, 116-111 and 115-113 on the cards, despite the fact that they also deducted a point. Cleverley described his opponent as "very clumsy" and said: "he made me miss and dragged me, but sometimes it happens. " Cleverley was fighting for the interim title as full champion Jurgen Brahmer was in the midst of an appeal against a 16-month prison sentence for assault and abusive behavior. The appeal, considered in Germany on December 13, 2010, in the event of Bramer's failure and his departure to prison, would have led to the release of the belt and the elevation of Cleverley's status to full champion. However, the court proceedings did not lead to the fact that the champion was sent to prison, and a fight with Bramer was scheduled for May 21, 2011. Speaking about the match, Cleverley said he was glad it had to happen, saying, "He's a champion and the only way I would consider myself a real champion would be if I took the belt from him instead of taking the vacant title.Heavy

Cleverley made his Heavyweight debut on May 17, 2014, defeating Sean. Corbin won the vacant WBA Intercontinental heavyweight title by technical knockout in the second round. Cleverley successfully defended the title against Alejandro Emilio Valori on July 12, 2014 by technical knockout in the fourth round.

On November 22, 2014, Cleverley and Tony Bellew had a rematch, this time they both fought in the heavyweight division. The fight took place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. It was also a WBO Heavyweight title eliminator . At that time , the title belonged to Marco Hack . The fight went 12 rounds, and Bellew won by split decision (115-113, 116-112 and 114-115). In an interview after the fight , Bellew said: "I'm over the moon with happiness, listen, it's over, they put him to bed. We talked about a lot of things. I don't like him right now, but it's all settled today. It's over. , the job is done, and I outplayed a great athlete." He also said that he would hold a rubber match at the Millennium Stadium if there was a demand for it. Cleverley said it was difficult for him to deal with Bellew at a higher weight.

Return to light Heavyweight

Umno returned to light heavyweight after losing to Bellew. His first fight in the original weight was against Thomas Mena (13-8, 8 knockouts) on May 30, 2015. Skillfully won by knockout in the 1st round.

Cleverley vs. Fonfara

October 16, 2015 Skillfully fought with the former Polish challenger for the world title Andrzej Fonfara (27-3, 16 knockouts) at the UIC pavilion in Chicago for the WBC international light heavyweight title. Fonfara beat Cleverly in 12 exciting rounds and won by unanimous decision in the Premier Boxing Champions main tournament . The judges put Fonfar 115-113, 116-112, 116-112. Combined, Cleverly and Fonfara set CompuBox records for the most combined punches and touchdowns in a light heavyweight fight: 2,524 punches and 936 touchdowns - both CompuBox records. Fonfara also set personal bests in the light heavyweight division with 474 punches and 1,413 attempts. Despite bleeding from a grotesquely swollen nose in the second half of the fight, Cleverley never stopped coming forward.

Cleverley vs. Bramer

On July 22, 2016, it was announced on Sky Sports that Cleverley would finally face his long-time rival Jurgen Brahmer (48-2, 35 knockouts) for the WBA 'Regular' light heavyweight title on October 1 at the Jahnsportforum tournament in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. They were originally supposed to meet in 2011 at the O2 in London, and another fight was discussed in 2015, but Cleverley decided to fight in America against Fonfara. It was Bramer's seventh defense of his title since 2013. At night, Cleverley became a two-time light heavyweight world champion after Bramer came off the chair with an elbow injury at the end of the 6th round. his promoter later confirmed that he was dislocated. The fight itself was going forward and backward, and Bramer won the most thanks to more effective punches, especially a left hook to the head. At the time of the stoppage, Bremer was ahead 58-56 in the minutes three times.

There was a rematch clause in the contract, which Bremer said he would take. The day after the fight, there was already a dispute between both camps about where the rematch would take place, and promoter Eddie Hearn argued that Cleverley should have home advantage.

Cleverley vs. Jack.

After Badu Jack (21-1-2, 12 knockouts) moved to light heavyweight, on June 19, 2017, he announced that his team was working on an agreement with which he would be able to fight. Wise. He expected that when the fight was announced, he would be on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor in Las Vegas on August 26, 2017. On July 19, according to sources, the deal was approaching. to be coordinated with the parties. On July 27, the World Boxing Association ordered Cleverly to fight undefeated interim WBA champion Dmitry Bivol (11-0, 9 knockouts), which will eventually become a mandatory challenger for super champion Andre Ward. . Both camps received 30 days, otherwise they will go to the wallet. On August 9, Eddie Hearn confirmed that the terms of the fight between Jack and Cleverley had been agreed. It was also reported that it is still unclear whether the status of the "regular" WBA title will be officially approved, since the mandatory challenger Bivol has not yet agreed to an additional fee. On August 12, the WBA Championships Committee granted special permission to fight for the light heavyweight title. They also made it clear that the winner would have to negotiate a deal to fight Bivol before September 11, 2017. Umno lost the fight due to a stoppage in the 5th round, losing his WBA title at the same time. Umno had some success in the 2nd round, continuously throwing and landing without hurting Jack. In the 4th round, Jack put pressure on Cleverley, who left himself exposed and ended up with a bloody nose. The end came when Cleverley confronted the ropes, and Jack started hitting him with combinations. The referee intervened and announced the end of the fight after 2 minutes 47 seconds in the 5th round. During the stoppage, Jack landed 172 out of 442 punches (39%), while Cleverley, who threw 409, landed only 82 punches. (20%). In the post - match fight , Jack said: "I wanted to box with him and feel him during the creation of the jab. Then the plan was to break it down from there. Slyly stated that he broke his nose in the third round. Jack also told Showtime's Jim Gray, "You can't leave this in the hands of the judges. You have to go for the kill," referring to your previous decisions in battle. Jack received a base purse of $750000, and Cleverley earned $100,000.

Retirement

On August 27, 2017, Cleverley announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 30, having lost four of his last eight fights. . He tweeted: "It's time to say goodbye. Thank you and goodbye, boxing. I've lived it and loved every second of this sport. There are too many miles on the clock." He finished with a record of 30 wins from 34 fights with 16 wins over the distance. He suffered 4 defeats.