Nathan Cleverley Vs Tony Bellew: British Boxing
By Donald C. Stewart
In Liverpool on the 16th of July, Tony Bellew, 16-0, 10 KO’s, beat Ovill McKenzie, 18-11, 7 KO’s, for the second time. We had been promised fireworks and passion and following their first meeting when there were knockdowns and a controversial stoppage in a fight that Bellew won. We had high hopes underpinned with hard evidence.
In the end, once again we were to be sorely disappointed and several times I had to be woken up as Bellew cruised to a points victory over McKenzie. Bellew had been responsible for some of the claims that this was going to be a domestic classic but afterwards he emphasized that he had boxed to a game plan. Bellew claimed he had shown how mature as a boxer he had become. With Commonwealth and British Light Heavyweight belts draped over his shoulder Bellew hoped that the evidence of his maturity would give him a chance against WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly, 22-0 11 KO’s. They just don’t like each other…
Bellew finished the fight and immediately headed to the ringside to taunt Cleverly who was an interested spectator at Liverpool. The war of words between the two has been raging for some time. Bellew was due to fight Cleverly for the WBO belt following the withdrawal of Juergen Braehmar earlier in the year but failed to make the weight. Although they didn’t fight in the ring, the verbals at the press conference to announce the fight were enough to draw the conclusion that neither fighter likes the other!
Cleverly has not ruled out a fight with Bellew and it has to be conceded that number one and number two light heavyweights in the UK might sell a few tickets. However as Cleverly pointed out after the McKenzie fight, Bellew had failed to convince. However Cleverly is no fool and the idea of a Bellew fight appeals though the suggestion by Bellew that it should happen in September is a bit early.
Looking round the Light Heavyweight scene at the moment Cleverly would do well to box clever and his promoter, Frank Warren is certainly no mug when it comes to guiding world champions. There is no clamoring for a unification fight yet and with 22 fights under his belt, Cleverly is beginning to get to the point of being experienced enough to know when he has to fight to keep his belt and when he needs to box and create a legacy.
A domestic defense should therefore appeal and would cement his relationship with the British public before crossing the pond to take some chances stateside. Cleverly has never fought professionally outside of the UK and managing the future for such an excellent boxer will need careful skill. As indeed will his arrival in the States if he is wanting to become a boxer of note and a fighter of some wealth.
Warren needs no one to tell him what is needed – after all he is the one who brought Prince Naseem Hamed to the USA! Bellew is by far the most experienced other Light Heavyweight in the UK as there are some who have exploded onto the scene but are way short of experience. However in a European context there are a few options and perhaps Bellew should fit in a decent contest in Europe – perhaps taking the European belt – before climbing into the ring for a World belt. Taking the European belt from Eduard Gutknecht 22-1 9KOs would capture some of the attention from Cleverly and increase the clamor for a world title opportunity. It would certainly be more impressive than the suggestion from Bellew that all he needs is a fans ‘campaign involving local radio in Merseyside. It needs evidence that this would be a real contest rather than a chess game.
Bellew certainly proved against McKenzie that he can fight to a game plan but what was missing was the fireworks promised. Bellew was correct in claiming that he neutralised McKenzie’s threat but this was McKenzie’s 11th professional defeat. His record was once impressive and he is a dangerous fighter but world title contenders eat these types of guys for breakfast, they don’t mind map them out the ring. Another fight that proves that Bellew has the ability and the punching power is needed fro the neutral fans to believe otherwise we will just think this is another snore fest in the making.
We await in anticipation as the Light Heavyweight field is there for the taking as the oldies are in charge and the young upstarts have some way to go in terms of experience but a decent challenger who knows what he is about could tear up the division – will it be Cleverly or will it be Bellew – no matter who it may be if it is either the other will be far from happy!
