Nathan Cleverly!!

[Asterix]

Even though Cleverly has been at the same weight class for a few years, he has got bigger. He looks like a decent sized light heavy now.

[alexpaterson]

How big is Clev in Wales? Is he near what Calzaghe was?

[Chambers2]

Cleverleys just getting better and better, I can't wait to see him in with the BIG boys at LHW Dawson, Cloud, Pascal, Johnson...... there may be an influx from the SM division after the Super 6 as well.

Cleverly was clinical on Saturday..... precise, quick and (now he's) powerful.


Cleverly, Brook and Khan are the new wave of British Boxing superstars IMO

[tonyevs]

as said. My biggest concern is lack of proper world class guys around him, trainers etc .. and getting pushed onto the world scene too quickly.

Khan is soon to be found out. And Brook I feel, is an accident waiting to happen .. he like Khan(not as bad though) has a style that doesn`t suit his chin.

[Counter-puncher]

i know what you mean tonyevs

i would like to hear of Cleverley sparring with the likes of Froch (as if thatll happen) or just generally mixing with as many topclass british fighters as possiblwe in training

[leforge]

How big is Clev in Wales? Is he near what Calzaghe was?

He should make a defence of his title in Wales. He not headlined a show there yet.

[tonyevs]

How big is Clev in Wales? Is he near what Calzaghe was?

Don`t forget .. Calzaghe was only `big` in Wales after the Lacy fight. Before that, he would have struggled to sell out his living room.
Cleverly seems to be following that kinda ... then again, without mainstream tv, very very few fighters have got any sort of following to speak of.

[Counter-puncher]

How big is Clev in Wales? Is he near what Calzaghe was?

Don`t forget .. Calzaghe was only `big` in Wales after the Lacy fight. Before that, he would have struggled to sell out his living room.
.

bit of an exaggeration surely, i seem to recall the Brewer fight was held at ummm i don't know some arena with about 8,000 people. it was bigger than his living room or even a small hall, from memory. but i know what you mean too.

[mickey1975]

How big is Clev in Wales? Is he near what Calzaghe was?

Don`t forget .. Calzaghe was only `big` in Wales after the Lacy fight. Before that, he would have struggled to sell out his living room.
Cleverly seems to be following that kinda ... then again, without mainstream tv, very very few fighters have got any sort of following to speak of.

He defended his title nine times in Cardiff before the Lacy fight including outdoors at The Cardiff Castle!

[King Haye]

i think he looked good but he didnt take his shots to well, i dnt think he is ready for a world title yet cloud and dawson will destroy him with ease im a big fan of pascal and believe he will dispose of him with pure power then theres braehmer who again i think will be his best choice but be to strong, think he should wait a while

[tonyevs]

How big is Clev in Wales? Is he near what Calzaghe was?

Don`t forget .. Calzaghe was only `big` in Wales after the Lacy fight. Before that, he would have struggled to sell out his living room.
Cleverly seems to be following that kinda ... then again, without mainstream tv, very very few fighters have got any sort of following to speak of.

He defended his title nine times in Cardiff before the Lacy fight including outdoors at The Cardiff Castle!

Yes, 9times out of the 17 defences. Or 18 if you include lacy ... thats half. But so what?
It can also be pointed out that all of Joes biggest fights prior to Lacy, were in England. Woodhall, Sheika, Starie, Robin Reid, Eubank ... even his British title fight against Delaney was in England

He also had to go to Germany to defend against Veit two fights before the Lacy fight ..

[mickey1975]

He went to Germany entirely for business reasons.He had all ready beaten Viet,in a round,in Wales.So how could they sell a rematch?Also,he was paid brilliantly for what he thought would be(and he was right) a straightforward defence.

[tonyevs]

He went to Germany entirely for business reasons.He had all ready beaten Viet,in a round,in Wales.So how could they sell a rematch?Also,he was paid brilliantly for what he thought would be(and he was right) a straightforward defence.

Why else would he go to Germany ... your kinda stating the obvious. Which doesn`t prove what I think you want to prove ...
Your kinda overlooking the flip-side .. Veit had to sell a fight against a guy he had already lost to

[mickey1975]

He went to Germany entirely for business reasons.He had all ready beaten Viet,in a round,in Wales.So how could they sell a rematch?Also,he was paid brilliantly for what he thought would be(and he was right) a straightforward defence.

Why else would he go to Germany ... your kinda stating the obvious. Which doesn`t prove what I think you want to prove ...
Your kinda overlooking the flip-side .. Veit had to sell a fight against a guy he had already lost to

Im not trying to proove anything,im just saying he went there because of a huge purse to box someone he had already destroyed in a round.Who wouldnt?If Damon Hague wanted to give Foch around a million pounds for a rematch,or Bonin Haye,do you think they would say no?

[MrBoxingUK2]

Vince Cleverly is more than competant to take Nathan All the way, he has been around champion boxers longer than he cares to remember. He was highly thought of and still is by Enzo and was Enzo's right hand man for years. What better person to look after a fighter than his dad (Ask Joe)

I meant no disrespect to Cleverlys Dad. I`m sure he has worked with champion boxers - but very few with the potential his son is showing.
And lets be fair - as good as Enzo Calzaghe is at doing what he does .. he is a tad over-rated in the whole `trainer of the year` thingy

Joe Calzaghe was an exceptional tallent(braces himself for serious flack from Gomez) and I`m sure if his mother was training him he would have achieved the same. Though to mix it with the big guns across the water I just think without somebody with more experience of working with real top class champions he may be found wanting.

Cleverly is head and shoulders above anybody in Britain at the moment. Though the likes of Cloud, Johnson, Dawson and even Pascal I feel would be that little bit too much for him at the moment.

He gets beaten easily by them now, very easy.

i doubt all of them beat him VERY EASY as you think. pascal didn't look anything special against a 43 year old silvio branco. clev would give pascal ALOT of problems. if froch can outbox pascal im pretty sure cleverly could come close! there is no way on this earth that glen johnson very easily beats cleverly same with cloud. he looked good against woods but if clev were to try and use his height and reach advantage he could do well against cloud. dawson is way too good for clev at the moment.

[MrBoxingUK2]

How big is Clev in Wales? Is he near what Calzaghe was?

nowhere near. calzaghe is one of the best ever brit fighters. cleverly is a europan champion. but i could imagine he has a big following in wales

[MrBoxingUK2]

Cleverleys just getting better and better, I can't wait to see him in with the BIG boys at LHW Dawson, Cloud, Pascal, Johnson...... there may be an influx from the SM division after the Super 6 as well.

Cleverly was clinical on Saturday..... precise, quick and (now he's) powerful.


Cleverly, Brook and Khan are the new wave of British Boxing superstars IMO

do you not think mitchell can be a british star? i think he will hav a huge east london/dagenham following if he wins world titles,he is a down to earth guy and an xciting fighter who the fans will take to in a heartbeat.

[Londonirish]

I still cant believe he only beat Ernie Smith 12-84-4 at the time by a Round on his debut 39-38
Now look at him

[MrBoxingUK2]

as said. My biggest concern is lack of proper world class guys around him, trainers etc .. and getting pushed onto the world scene too quickly.

Khan is soon to be found out. And Brook I feel, is an accident waiting to happen .. he like Khan(not as bad though) has a style that doesn`t suit his chin.

never noticed brook had a weak chin

[tonyevs]

He went to Germany entirely for business reasons.He had all ready beaten Viet,in a round,in Wales.So how could they sell a rematch?Also,he was paid brilliantly for what he thought would be(and he was right) a straightforward defence.

Why else would he go to Germany ... your kinda stating the obvious. Which doesn`t prove what I think you want to prove ...
Your kinda overlooking the flip-side .. Veit had to sell a fight against a guy he had already lost to

Im not trying to proove anything,im just saying he went there because of a huge purse to box someone he had already destroyed in a round.Who wouldnt?If Damon Hague wanted to give Foch around a million pounds for a rematch,or Bonin Haye,do you think they would say no?

But the original question to this was. How big a following did Calzaghe have? .. and I still say, before Lacy .. a small following.

MrBoxingUK2. I too think Cleverly can go along way. But to say he is anywhere near Johnson no chance.

[MrBoxingUK2]

Why else would he go to Germany ... your kinda stating the obvious. Which doesn`t prove what I think you want to prove ...
Your kinda overlooking the flip-side .. Veit had to sell a fight against a guy he had already lost to

Im not trying to proove anything,im just saying he went there because of a huge purse to box someone he had already destroyed in a round.Who wouldnt?If Damon Hague wanted to give Foch around a million pounds for a rematch,or Bonin Haye,do you think they would say no?

But the original question to this was. How big a following did Calzaghe have? .. and I still say, before Lacy .. a small following.

MrBoxingUK2. I too think Cleverly can go along way. But to say he is anywhere near Johnson no chance.

i didn't say he was near him. i said to teddy that johnson would not beat clev very easily. which he wouldnt!

[mickey1975]

Small following?He headlined 9 times!These shows must have been making money to keep going back,and they werent small venues.Fwank tried it without Joe once and never returned

[glahn]

It would be good for him to have a headlining defense in Wales, I think. Perhaps the reason his following there isn't as big as it could be at this point is because he's from a relatively small place? Cefn Fforest isn't Swansea or Cardiff or even Wrexham, where he would likely have a much larger local fanbase to draw on. That said, now that he's a bit more established and has had some coverage in the nationals I can see his profile in Wales getting bigger and bigger. Plus he as an interesting story for writers at the nationals to latch onto. I think his career is being built and handled very well at the moment, and it won't be long before we see him filling medium sized venues in his homeland.