Apart from the other belt holders and Hopkins who would you have liked Clev to fight

Id rather watch one of his sparring sessions with Ovill than watch him fight a no-named can. It is not the fact that he is fighting a bum he is continually fighting people who dont deserve to be anywhere near a world title.

 

Anyone ranked Top 10, hell even ranked Top 10 in there own country would be a start. This fight would be laughable for a prospect, never mind a supposed World Champion. This guy's no better than the stiff Kell Brook knocked about on his American debut. The difference is Cleverly has a "World Title" around his waist.

 

Someone we've heard of would be a start..

 

Same could be said of Ryan Coyne :yep

 

Nice

 

Fonfara, Chilemba, Gutknecht, Braehmer or Campillo wouldve been great

Someone in the WBO top15 wouldve been more than acceptable.

If this fight was a non-title 10 rounder it would be defensible, I'd rather see a Karpency rematch than this farce

 

Rematch with Joey Vegas.

 

I enjoy hearing Clevs new opponent get named its a fun little boxrec game. Its an interesting tactic rather than guys moving up in weight, overhyped prospects or faded stars he goes for completely unknown opponents. Few of us would have a problem with a fight like this every now and then (we accept the state of boxing in these current times whether we like it or not) but the consistent shite opposition is unacceptable for someone claiming to be a world champ.

He's really unfortunate the Braehmar fight fell through it would've been a huge addition to his record assuming he came through with the win.

 

Campillo or Chilemba would be good

 

Clinton Woods. I know he is retired and alot of people didn't rate him, but he was a decent fighter and he has far more heart and guts than Clevley. Would of been a chance for Woods to go out with a WBO trinkit.

 

Just checking the various rankings, 175lbs seems to be a bit of a unknown haven at the moment. In the top 15 with the various bodies there are 40+ fighters (who might be repeated various times in each organisation) I have never heard of.

It would be pretty easy for someone to defend against mediocre opponents for a couple of years, until someone tasty decides to get a belt. I would imagine more of the same WBO defences until someone good comes along, then you may as well try a Unification against Clouds, Shumenov etc.

 

I'd expect a Ring top 10 ranked opponent every time for a world champion.

If a top 10 guy can't be secured, then a member of the org's top 15 will suffice.

Failing that a good opponent from a lower/higher weight class - obviously higher is difficult in Clev's instance.

 

Chilemba would be a good test.

 

This fight would've been fine when he was a prospect, though not particularly exciting either. As a 'World' champion, it's a disgrace. Even the fella Bellew is fighting would have been better than this!

As soon as Braehmer became available, he should have gone after that fight IMO. Failing that, at least someone with a few good wins v B level fighters would have been ok. Though Bellew has proven to be at least the equal to Cleverly, the fact that the greener version of Tony last year and Murat (which was when he was still a prospect) are his best wins when he's making a 4th title defence is pretty shambolic for a champion.

It will also hinder his progress IMO. He will have got nothing out of the glorified sparring session vs Karpency and doubtless won't here either. If he ever does step it up, you'd fear for him vs quite a few contenders such as Bellew or Chilemba, let alone the top guys like Dawson or Cloud. It will have been a long time since his last test vs Bellew, which I eeckon he lost anyway.