Nathan Cleverly v Robin Krasniqi March 16th

I think Murat was his best win, I don't really give him too much credit for the Bellew win as he could have easily lost that fight if Tony had relaxed maybe a little bit more, stuck to the jab and not got tired in the last few rounds. After the Murat win I was genuinely excited about how he may progress but other than the Bellew fight absolutely nothing has happened. He is a work rate fighter and the older he gets the more ineffective he will become, take away Cleverly's legs and there isn't much else going for him! I suppose his inactivity may have kept him fresher in later life though....

 

Defending a paper title against the #18th best super-middleweight in Europe. Good times.

 

Hopkins will be collecting his bus pass by the time they agree to fight him.

 

So is my nan.

 

:-((
Hope Robin upsets him... I've had just about enough of Cleverly.

 

Now Cleverly's fighting Simon Cowell's ex-prisoner, out on parole brother.

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Sweet Jesus, Cleverly's dog and pony show of a title-reign gets more hilarious and insane by the day.

arty

 

I know I'll get shot down for this, but anyways -

The light heavyweight division is pretty poor right now. I know next to nothing about Robin Krasniqi and by all accounts this isn't a fight that has anyone excited. However, from Clev's point of view, he's made all the right noises about wanting the top guys in the division, and he's backed it up to an extent by defending his title on the road against Tony Bellew and in America. As long as he's active, I don't see the problem in him taking on a guy like Krasniqi or Hawk, as long as it's all building up towards a big fight in the near future. Looking at the other LHW champs:

- Dawson had a terrible end to 2012, and is probably going to rematch Pascal or a take a tune up next, so that's not an option

- There's talk of Hopkins and Cloud being made next, if true, both of these guys are out of the picture for Clev

- I don't know much about Shumenov? Is that a fight that could and should be made?

Who else should Clev be fighting next? Bellew is going down the WBC route with a view to fighting Dawson. I think Bellers will beat Dawson (never rated him at all) if they fight in the next 18 months, that would set up a rematch with Clev.

- Carl Froch isn't moving up to LHW anytime soon

I don't see the problem with Clev taking care of his mandatory next, as long as he doesn't fall into the same pattern Calzaghe did, of fighting terrible defences for long stretches of his career. I hope Frank is out there genuinely looking for the big fights, though I know that's me being optimistic!

 

You make some good points in there mate.

Dawson is unavailable, that's true. Shuemenov, Cloud and Hopkins though, I reckon FW could make all those fights for Nathan if he really wanted too. Remember that interview he did with IFilmLondon where he showed the camera a load of emails he's sent to fighters/promoters regarding a fight with Clev?

Hopkins is playing hard to get allegedly, tweeting stuff like that he's never heard of Cleverly and turning down one official offer that we know of (from those emails FW showed). Hopkins isn't dumb, he knows what he's doing. He's only got 1 or 2 fights left and wants to make sure he gets one last big pay day before finally retiring. FW by the sounds of things won't meet his demands for the fight to happen.

Those emails also showed that they'd virtually agreed for Cleverly to fight Shuemenov, the purses and venue were agreed and everything. Just TV dates ended up nixing it. I bet if they went back to his side now though and could find a date some time in the new year then they could easily get the fight made. I doubt Cloud's demands would be too much either.

Same thing with Bellew, Tony would probably take a rematch in heartbeat but because he and FW fell out over Tony moving to a new promoter he won't even go there (plus because Tony pushed Nathan to the limit in the first fight, even beat him in the minds of some).

FW it appears is content to just allow Cleverly to plod along and have safe fights against bums unless he can have these big fights on his terms. Nathan's career, as a result is becoming a complete joke in the minds of fans everywhere because he's not having any worthwhile fights. Like I said, if FW pushed the boat out and REALLY tried then I bet he could get Clev a big fight, either here or America. Doesn't appear that's what he wants to do for the time-being though. Until he does then Cleverly will never be taken seriously by the majority.

 

Its always been ******s way to get fighters paid and worry about legacy and threat levell after. Hes sonner or later clev will have to stwep up but I wouldnt mind betting its not next yeat

 

Thanks mate. I hadn't seen that interview with Frank, but that's very interesting. Shows that there is actually some substance to his claims, as we've seen Frank in this position where he has a titlist, who ends up fighting nobodies whilst Frank tells the world 'all the top guys are avoiding him'...

Clev isn't a big name, nor is he that much of a draw even in the UK. If they want a big fight, they need to make concessions, if they want Hopkins over in the Millenium stadium, they need to pay him a ****ing wedge, more than he can make fighting Cloud or Shumenov. I'm sure if a fight with Cloud was made, all the criticism of Clev on here would disappear - such as 'The Robin Krasniqi kart to a world title' thread :rofl

How do you think Clev would get on against the other titlists at 175? Would be get found out, or can he hold his own? Also, I'm sure Cleverly-Bellew 2 will happen at some point, that was a really good fight

 

Here's the FW interview, from around August time I think. REALLY good interview it is, very insightful.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjZ8GwM2eok[/ame]

If Clev fights Shuemenov I think he could win it on points. Clev's work-rate is one of his biggest weapons and I think Shuemenov would struggle to cope with him.

If he fights Hopkins though then I think he gets schooled. Bernard may nearly be 50 but he still has enough to out-smart and out-fight Cleverly. It would be a wide win for B-Hop on the scorecards, especially in America.

If he fights either Dawson when he's firing on all cylinders (he clearly wasn't against Ward) or Jean Pascal then I think Nathan gets KO'ed. Dawson and Pascal may have had some bad fights recently but they're still the top dogs at 175lbs in my opinion.

Cloud is interesting, I think he's a bit overrated personally and I could see him and Nathan being very close, maybe lean towards Cloud JUST. Nathan COULD beat him though.

Close again if he fought Bellew in a rematch. The first fight was razor-thin and no matter who you think won it, it should be by no more than a single round to either guy (I had it a draw by the way, 114-114). In a rematch I'd lean towards Bellew but I admit that's me being bias. I ****ing love Bellew and he's my favourite but he and Clev are very similar levels at the moment. Just Tony's having good fights and improving, Clev's stuck wasting his time with bums like Karpency and Hawk.

What's you're opinion?

 

Holt - Peterson $50k won by Gary Shaw, Cleverly - Krasniqui $500,000K these where the winning purse bids for those fights not bad for someone with money worries

Cleverly due 68% of that purse cant see that Happening

 

Thanks for posting that up mate

I know little about Shumenov, Clev's work rate is his strongest asset

I'm not sure about Hopkins, if it's the Hopkins from the Pascal fight, Clev would get schooled. Hopkins today might just be done, I'm not sure if he has anything left other than a name at this stage?

Yeah Dawson is top dog at 175, but I've never been that impressed with him. Dawson-Pascal 2 is definitely a fight I'd love to see though, both guys need each other to rebuild

Cloud struggled badly with Johnson, but prime Glen Johnson at LHW is easily better than Cleverly. I agree that's a close and winnable fight for Clev

As for Bellew, I had it evens going into the last round, and just thought Clev outworked a tired Bellew at the end, after losing the early rounds. I like Tony Bellew a lot, clever boxer with a lot going for him, I can see him settling in well at CW in the future with his size. I was impressed with how he stayed out of any danger, and stayed calm with that horrible cut the other week. I don't think Clev's really progressed since they fought either. That rematch has to happen at some point. Is Bellew now WBC silver champion?

 

Yeah he is but that WBC "silver" belt is a Disney belt that's worthless, along with all those other Interim, Regular, International, Intercontinental belts. Just pieces of jewellery. Bellew is now WBC no. 3. Basically, one fight from becoming mandatory for Dawson. As much as like Tony, I doubt he's ready for Chad. Overrated or not, Chad is still the best.

 

Clev wont be fighting any of the other titlists for the forseeable future.

I've read Shumenov's family are wealthy from oil money, they dont need the risk & wont be tempted by anything Frank can offer.

Dawson & Cloud are more likely to face each other or Hopkins or Pascal, all of which are bigger fights stateside then Clev.

Campillo is the best we could hope for, but as he's probably too good for Clev I doubt Frank will be too keen on making it happen.

After Krasniqi Clev will be facing one ranked WBO contender after another.