Will Tony Bellew now

[Crease]

What a myopic view of events.
Bellew was a late-notice opponent for a promotion in danger of imploding back in. His mouth made it interesting but he couldn't make the weight. I'd hardly say that was fkking it up? Bizarre comment.

If Tony Bellew could not make the weight then it his is own fault, that is not my opinion... It is merely a fact.
He was keen enough to take the fight (after Juergen Braehmer pulled out & was stripped) and Tony had done his fair share of talking the fight up... But then he got egg on his face when he couldn't make the weight.
In that regard, he has no-one to blame but HIMSELF... It's sad but it's true.

Cleverly wasn't KIND to give him another shot, he was well advised, providing as it did a full house and a cracking evening

And yet Cleverly did give him a title shot, and we must give him credit for that... Though maybe "kind" is the wrong word ( )
Particularly when there had been other opportunites out there for Clev, such as:
A fight against Braehmer
A unifcation against Shumenov
And I heard rumours of Glen Johnson moving up to Light Heavyweight.

Despite all this, Cleverly decided to settle his unfiished business with Bellew & he did.

against someone with tangibly shallow qualification for a supposed world-title fight. The fact it proved razor tight and a pulsating contest was a bonus and testimony to either Bellew's unexpected ability or the over-rating of Nathan's - or perhaps the truth is in the middle. TB is a bit better than thought and Nath not quite as.

OR I actually predicted that it was going to be a close, competitive & tense affair... And I also predicted that Cleverley would be the victor, go check.

So please lets not make out that he's some sort of 175 pound Louis XIV and all challengers should be direct descendents of Michael Spinks or have a record like Apollo Creed.

What the hell are you talking about man? Who is boosting Cleverly up to the ranks of Michael Spinks, none of us have even mentioned Spinks???

I am not making Cleverly out to be better than what he is, he sucessfully defended his title against Bellew because he is the better fighter, and there's nothing worng with giving him credit for that, when it is rightfully due...

[Crease]

Tony Bellew deserves respect not some total helmet having a pop

take no notice to Crease & Realistic (BELLENDS) obviously no nothing about boxing.

The amount of people that think like Realistic and Crease are minimal Tony

I don't see why I am being categorised or pidgeon-holded as some sort of "Tony Bellew hater".


But you guys really, seriously need to fucking wise up! I can assure each of you that I am not, the fact is I (like most people) scored the fight in Cleverley's favour and I had predicted that the fight was going to be close:
Taken from: http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f ... y#p3049235

Cleverly late stoppage... But it nis a dangerous fight for him particularly in Belew's hometown.
The big danger here is if Bellew can keep the rounds close & competitive, stay busy & maybe socre a knockdown for a 10-8 round, then this fight could be his for the taking under the hometown favourite decisions (which we are seeing all the time now).

But despite all that, I fancy Cleverly to stop him.

I recognised the fact that Bellew has the punching power to floor Cleverly & that the rounds were going to be close.

And I was gald to see the fight happen, I wasn't critical of Bellew getting a title shot.
Taken from: http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f ... y#p2965982

This should be a decent fight. Good first defence for Cleverly

I expect the fight will be in Cardiff and Cleverly will win.


Glad to see this fight happen though, I was disappointed when Bellew had to pull out last time.
Maybe Cleverly could target Braehmer next, just to settle the unfinished business...

So, I was gald to see Tony given a title shot, he just got beat by Cleverly plain & simple...

Actually in many ways I would eacho what this guy said:

Finally. And i am not trying to be disrespectful to you. But you did lose the fight. Not one of the official judges had you winning, and the majority here had you a point or two behind too.
An immediate rematch isn't likely to happen. There was no surprises when the winner was anounced.

[Crease]

Topny, take it easy big man, I wouldn't want to fuck with you ( )

Crease & Realistic, you haven't a clue! I didnt lose that fight! Bitching about it? I'm asking to do it again you f*****g pair of clowns! I want the fight to go ahead again! I don't give a f**k what either of you think! I was wrote off from the start by clowns like you 2!!

If you actually take the time Tony, read over what I said in other topics... I recognise that you are a good fighter (and you'll get better) and a hard puncher, no doubt in my mind. I acknowledged that you would give Cleverly a rought night that he wouldn't forget in a hurry.

But big man, after watching the fight, my opinion is that you narrowly lost it - from my scoring anyway.
I suppose I could be a "Yes man" and tell you how good you are and how far you will go, but that's not me being honest. And If I'm not being honest then there's no point me even talking to you.

And listen big man, this is not the end of the world for you, in my opinion you're just not ready (yet) for another world title shot - but you'll have more good nights as I've said before in another thread:
Taken from: http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f ... w#p3057025

If I were Bellew's Manager I would be advising him to maintain his position as British & Commonwealth Champion before aiming for the European title.

Could Bellew in a word title? I think the fight against Cleverely proed he still has some way to go before he challenges for another World crown.

That said, I don't think the European Title is out of the question for "The Bomber", but there is absolutely no reason to rush it.


So, I would say 2 defences of his British & Commonwealth titles - keep busy fights, try to iron out the mistakes.

January 2012: Double defence vs Tony Jeffries
May 2012: Double defence vs Tony Dobson
(The Dobson fight will also get him the IBO Light Heavyweight Title)

And that would be a great short-term comeback for Bellew.

But that's only my opinion, I'm sure your Manager will have different ideas of what direction you should take your career

I think it was so close that there is unfinished business! That's my view on it, I'll continue to improve under my coaches and I know in time I will eventually become a world champion! People are still yet to see the best of me that's for certain...

I tend to agree with you there. And I do think we'll defnitely see you as European Champion before you get another World Title tilt.
The only thing I would say is: TAKE YOUR TIME Toney there's no great rush, you've got a lot going for you, and you've got every reason to be optimistic about your future.
You've just taken a World Champion to the wire... And you've got every reason to be proud of yourself.


NOTE: I'm going to prviate Mail Tony in case he doesn't read this.

[POWER99]

Crease & Realistic, you haven't a clue! I didnt lose that fight! Bitching about it? I'm asking to do it again you f*****g pair of clowns! I want the fight to go ahead again! I don't give a f**k what either of you think! I was wrote off from the start by clowns like you 2!!

I think it was so close that there is unfinished business! That's my view on it, I'll continue to improve under my coaches and I know in time I will eventually become a world champion! People are still yet to see the best of me that's for certain...

I just watched the fight again. Had Cleverly winning the first time...Just.

Now I have you up by 2. And trust me I am no kiss ass. Those 'jab jab' rounds won the fight for you.

REMATCH.

[Crease]

Now I have you up by 2. And trust me I am no kiss ass. Those 'jab jab' rounds won the fight for you.

No they didn't, Tony lost fair and suare mate, lets bury the hatchet and move on... Tony will be back.

REMATCH.

No chance... (And your easily swayed)

[P4P#1]

Topny, take it easy big man, I wouldn't want to fuck with you ( )

Crease & Realistic, you haven't a clue! I didnt lose that fight! Bitching about it? I'm asking to do it again you f*****g pair of clowns! I want the fight to go ahead again! I don't give a f**k what either of you think! I was wrote off from the start by clowns like you 2!!

If you actually take the time Tony, read over what I said in other topics... I recognise that you are a good fighter (and you'll get better) and a hard puncher, no doubt in my mind. I acknowledged that you would give Cleverly a rought night that he wouldn't forget in a hurry.

But big man, after watching the fight, my opinion is that you narrowly lost it - from my scoring anyway.
I suppose I could be a "Yes man" and tell you how good you are and how far you will go, but that's not me being honest. And If I'm not being honest then there's no point me even talking to you.

And listen big man, this is not the end of the world for you, in my opinion you're just not ready (yet) for another world title shot - but you'll have more good nights as I've said before in another thread:
Taken from: http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f ... w#p3057025

If I were Bellew's Manager I would be advising him to maintain his position as British & Commonwealth Champion before aiming for the European title.

Could Bellew in a word title? I think the fight against Cleverely proed he still has some way to go before he challenges for another World crown.

That said, I don't think the European Title is out of the question for "The Bomber", but there is absolutely no reason to rush it.


So, I would say 2 defences of his British & Commonwealth titles - keep busy fights, try to iron out the mistakes.

January 2012: Double defence vs Tony Jeffries
May 2012: Double defence vs Tony Dobson
(The Dobson fight will also get him the IBO Light Heavyweight Title)

And that would be a great short-term comeback for Bellew.

But that's only my opinion, I'm sure your Manager will have different ideas of what direction you should take your career

I think it was so close that there is unfinished business! That's my view on it, I'll continue to improve under my coaches and I know in time I will eventually become a world champion! People are still yet to see the best of me that's for certain...

I tend to agree with you there. And I do think we'll defnitely see you as European Champion before you get another World Title tilt.
The only thing I would say is: TAKE YOUR TIME Toney there's no great rush, you've got a lot going for you, and you've got every reason to be optimistic about your future.
You've just taken a World Champion to the wire... And you've got every reason to be proud of yourself.


NOTE: I'm going to prviate Mail Tony in case he doesn't read this.

That would have been ideal for your first post in the topic, Your original jus came across a very harsh imo,

[Manchester Massive]

I had Cleverly by 1 round on strength of him winning the last 2 but some rounds were so tight could easily have gone either way. If Tony had won 1 of the last 2 rounds then it would have been a draw overall from the official judges. Was a great fight, why wouldn't anyone want a rematch? To be fair to Cleverly next time it should be in Wales. Cleverly not ready for Hopkins, Dawson yet so makes sense.

[allahsnackbar]

I have a question for Tony.

First off, great fight, great performance etc.

However, you said before the fight you didnt want to hear any excuses and would not make any excuses. In the aftermath you then went on the bunce show and complained that your hands were an issue in the fight. you have also said your hand "went" in the second round in a post over at ESB. And you are also saying you didn't lose the fight when the majority had you losing. You absolutely reek of excuses and being a sore loser in my opinion.

[Craig14]

Whats with all the Bellew Bashing? He put up a great show in one of the domestic fights of the year and lost very narrowly. I can see how people scored the fight for him even though I had it one round for Cleverly. Why would anybody who loves boxing not want to see a rematch? It's beyond me are we gonna chase Bomber off this site like some people chased Paul Smith off?

[stevek3lly]

Whats with all the Bellew Bashing? He put up a great show in one of the domestic fights of the year and lost very narrowly. I can see how people scored the fight for him even though I had it one round for Cleverly. Why would anybody who loves boxing not want to see a rematch? It's beyond me are we gonna chase Bomber off this site like some people chased Paul Smith off?

Bloody hell. I can't believe I am going to agree with a Spurs fan.

Bomber fought a great fight and was part of a specticle which everyone will have enjoyed. In his post match interview he came across really well and so did Clev. I had the fight a draw like a lot of people did, but will not argue one bit (apart from 117-112 card that was a joke) with Clev edging the result.

I cannot see why people are now saying Bomber is whinging about the result. His comments are he thought he won 6 rounds and I agree.

Stop fcuking whinging and take it for what it was, a great fight.

[liamlion]

Crease & Realistic, you haven't a clue! I didnt lose that fight! Bitching about it? I'm asking to do it again you f*****g pair of clowns! I want the fight to go ahead again! I don't give a f**k what either of you think! I was wrote off from the start by clowns like you 2!!

I think it was so close that there is unfinished business! That's my view on it, I'll continue to improve under my coaches and I know in time I will eventually become a world champion! People are still yet to see the best of me that's for certain...

Tony. Firstly - thankyou very much for your part in giving all us boxing fans a terrific fight.
You and Nathan provided a first class exhibition of the best of Britain.
I'm pretty sure with your promoters proven track record. It won't be long before your fighting for another world title.


Finally. And i am not trying to be disrespectful to you. But you did lose the fight. Not one of the official judges had you winning, and the majority here had you a point or two behind too.
An immediate rematch isn't likely to happen. There was no surprises when the winner was anounced.
Nathan does not need to prove anything more to you - or your fans.
He did what you said he would not and could not ...

I wish you all the best with the rest of your career.

I wouldnt be so sure about an immediate rematch not happening my friend. I think its the most sensible and cash rewarding fight for Fwank and all concerned at this stage. A rematch is a very credible prospect.

I can assure you that the result and indeed the way the fight panned-out was a surprise to a number of people, including myself. I didnt score Cleverly the winner. And if we're absolutely fair, lets not forget that Cleverly didnt live up to his pre-fight hype that he would basically wipe-out and outclass Bomber, as he pretty much promised he would.

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

It's beyond me are we gonna chase Bomber off this site like some people chased Paul Smith off?

Nobody chased Paul Smith off this site Yid - stop being so melodramatic. He stopped coming here because he probably had better things to do after being stopped convincingly off Degale. I have to say he got a lot of leeway with the posters on here and is probably the biggest ever recipient of the 'boxrec bounce'.

Despite that, I loved reading his posts and came across as a very intelligent guy as does Tony Bellew.

[tonyevs]

Crease & Realistic, you haven't a clue! I didnt lose that fight! Bitching about it? I'm asking to do it again you f*****g pair of clowns! I want the fight to go ahead again! I don't give a f**k what either of you think! I was wrote off from the start by clowns like you 2!!

I think it was so close that there is unfinished business! That's my view on it, I'll continue to improve under my coaches and I know in time I will eventually become a world champion! People are still yet to see the best of me that's for certain...

Tony. Firstly - thankyou very much for your part in giving all us boxing fans a terrific fight.
You and Nathan provided a first class exhibition of the best of Britain.
I'm pretty sure with your promoters proven track record. It won't be long before your fighting for another world title.


Finally. And i am not trying to be disrespectful to you. But you did lose the fight. Not one of the official judges had you winning, and the majority here had you a point or two behind too.
An immediate rematch isn't likely to happen. There was no surprises when the winner was anounced.
Nathan does not need to prove anything more to you - or your fans.
He did what you said he would not and could not ...

I wish you all the best with the rest of your career.

I wouldnt be so sure about an immediate rematch not happening my friend. I think its the most sensible and cash rewarding fight for Fwank and all concerned at this stage. A rematch is a very credible prospect.

I can assure you that the result and indeed the way the fight panned-out was a surprise to a number of people, including myself. I didnt score Cleverly the winner. And if we're absolutely fair, lets not forget that Cleverly didnt live up to his pre-fight hype that he would basically wipe-out and outclass Bomber, as he pretty much promised he would.

I`m sure no boxing fan would say no to Cleverly and Bellew doing it again straight away. The thing is though, what benefit is it to Cleverly?
Nathan won. He would be going over old ground. He is still a young fighter with big ambitions ... much bigger than just proving again he can beat Tony Bellew. Its rather insulting to say that Cleverly needs Bellew to get a good pay day.

And as for Nathan not backing up his pre-fight boasts. He backed quite a few of them for sure. Cleverly won the fight on just about everybodys scorecards .. the very good Daniel Herbert scored it for Cleverly by 117 - 111 in this weeks BN. So it could be argued he did out-class Bomber if we go by this type of scorecard.
Nathan stood and fought Bellew. And when they traded, it was Nathan who came out on top most of the time. Cleverly did what Bellew told us he could not. He pushed Bellew back and actually bullied him at times, he took Bombers best shots on the rare occasion they got through and never looked unsteady once.

[whiteboy]

No mention of Boxing News scoring it 117-111 for Clev

[Craig14]

No mention of Boxing News scoring it 117-111 for Clev

Boxing news really has gone down hill, maybe I'm being too melodramatic again.

[liamlion]

Tony. Firstly - thankyou very much for your part in giving all us boxing fans a terrific fight.
You and Nathan provided a first class exhibition of the best of Britain.
I'm pretty sure with your promoters proven track record. It won't be long before your fighting for another world title.


Finally. And i am not trying to be disrespectful to you. But you did lose the fight. Not one of the official judges had you winning, and the majority here had you a point or two behind too.
An immediate rematch isn't likely to happen. There was no surprises when the winner was anounced.
Nathan does not need to prove anything more to you - or your fans.
He did what you said he would not and could not ...

I wish you all the best with the rest of your career.

I wouldnt be so sure about an immediate rematch not happening my friend. I think its the most sensible and cash rewarding fight for Fwank and all concerned at this stage. A rematch is a very credible prospect.

I can assure you that the result and indeed the way the fight panned-out was a surprise to a number of people, including myself. I didnt score Cleverly the winner. And if we're absolutely fair, lets not forget that Cleverly didnt live up to his pre-fight hype that he would basically wipe-out and outclass Bomber, as he pretty much promised he would.

I`m sure no boxing fan would say no to Cleverly and Bellew doing it again straight away. The thing is though, what benefit is it to Cleverly?
Nathan won. He would be going over old ground. He is still a young fighter with big ambitions ... much bigger than just proving again he can beat Tony Bellew. Its rather insulting to say that Cleverly needs Bellew to get a good pay day.

And as for Nathan not backing up his pre-fight boasts. He backed quite a few of them for sure. Cleverly won the fight on just about everybodys scorecards .. the very good Daniel Herbert scored it for Cleverly by 117 - 111 in this weeks BN. So it could be argued he did out-class Bomber if we go by this type of scorecard.
Nathan stood and fought Bellew. And when they traded, it was Nathan who came out on top most of the time. Cleverly did what Bellew told us he could not. He pushed Bellew back and actually bullied him at times, he took Bombers best shots on the rare occasion they got through and never looked unsteady once.

No mate, it doesnt quite work like that. In fact what youre suggesting is plain ridiculous. What an incredibly naive statement.

One man's scrorecard, however lop-sidedly wide, simply does not not undermine or alter the reality that the fight was incredibly close and highly competitive. Cleverly in no way outclassed Bellew, and that my friend is the general consensus whether you are able to accept that or not.

Ringside judge, Terry O'Connor's scorecard doesnt suggest Cleverly outclassed Bellew though, does it??

If youre unsure of how the fight actually played out then may I suggest you watch the fight rather than interpret one man's scoring of it

[mrbassie]

Keep whinging that he did not lose and DEMAND a rematch and keep on and on and on until people start listening? He reminds me of the spoilt kid in school who nagged and nagged until he got his own way. It was his mouth that got him the fight in the first place, a few and I mean a FEW had him winning and he is on the band wagon saying he did not lose!!!

YES YOU DID....... someone's 0 had to go and it was YOURS 8)

FFS you LOST the fight now move on.

Bellew came on almost straight away and said both that Cleverly is a great fighter and a great bloke. If you're trying to make some broader point about the way boxers in general act then you picked the wrong target. It was a close fight and to my knowledge the only person making any kind of noise like you're describing was me. I thought Bellew won, he obviously didn't think so, or thought it was so close as makes no difference who got the nod. He was a lot more sober than I was that night (aside from anything else) and again to my knowledge hasn't had a bad word to say about Cleverley, the ref etc. etc. etc. finish the thought yourself.
The man has shown nothing but class so you should get down, boogie and apologise.

Your chosen username is about is innapropriate as can be. I honestly don't get anyone coming on here and being a prick for no reason.

[Quixall]

I suppose you will always get a mixture of people writing on the forums and doing it for a multitude of reasons, both positive and negative. It's nice that we have pro and amateur boxers come on here, trainers and the odd tv pundit, but you can't expect everybody to be as knowledgable about boxing or to always be able to give fresh insight into a particular subject. A lot of people on this forum have never boxed or are maybe intertested in the sport and willing to come on here and learn more, i know that i personally come under that catagory. My main issue is the obvious trolls posts that appear, which are started with the sole intent of stiring a bit of trouble or someone wanting attention and getting it by stating something which is palpably not correct. It's great to read posts that extend your own knowleddge and i think some patience should be given to those guys that have a naive opinion but love the sport and want to learn more about it. I don't know whether this forum was better in the past, whether it is still respected or not, but for me it's still a great place to come to and discuss boxing

[Tommy Gunn13]

I suppose you will always get a mixture of people writing on the forums and doing it for a multitude of reasons, both positive and negative. It's nice that we have pro and amateur boxers come on here, trainers and the odd tv pundit, but you can't expect everybody to be as knowledgable about boxing or to always be able to give fresh insight into a particular subject. A lot of people on this forum have never boxed or are maybe intertested in the sport and willing to come on here and learn more, i know that i personally come under that catagory. My main issue is the obvious trolls posts that appear, which are started with the sole intent of stiring a bit of trouble or someone wanting attention and getting it by stating something which is palpably not correct. It's great to read posts that extend your own knowleddge and i think some patience should be given to those guys that have a naive opinion but love the sport and want to learn more about it. I don't know whether this forum was better in the past, whether it is still respected or not, but for me it's still a great place to come to and discuss boxing

Well said

[lefthook82]

I think I need to copyright my phrase before you guys steal it

So, from now on, use of the phrase 'boxrec bounce' will now incur a £1 royalty, you can pay to my paypal address

On a serious note, by all accounts Bellew did very well and deserves the rematch, but then so did Robin Reid...

Needs to get his head down, get some international level opponents and hope for a rematch down the line. Losing the 0 is a good thing in that Warren might be happier to take some more risks. Added to the fact that he is a ticket seller he will be looked after

Dudes like Yusuf Mack, Chris Henry, Diaconu etc would be relatively cheap decent international level opponents and should help with the rankings

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

It's beyond me are we gonna chase Bomber off this site like some people chased Paul Smith off?

Nobody chased Paul Smith off this site Yid - stop being so melodramatic. He stopped coming here because he probably had better things to do after being stopped convincingly off Degale. I have to say he got a lot of leeway with the posters on here and is probably the biggest ever recipient of the 'boxrec bounce'.

Despite that, I loved reading his posts and came across as a very intelligent guy as does Tony Bellew.

Fair point RE 'Boxrec bounce' but you have to admit that it is a two-way street and once a boxer is known as posting on here regularly we get a flood of people who bounce about looking for their attention, positively and negatively, and open pointless threads to get a response.

This here thread was clearly posted to get a rise out of Bellew himself as it does not offer any fresh insights.

I've posted here for yonks and rarely open threads, there's new guys who open a shedload of them and many of the threads are crap and/or rendered unreadable.

It has all become a bit too ESB my liking. Boxrec's British forum used to be the daddy, you'd get a lot of people in the trade following it closely and it never usually needed defending but now falls in line with the standard criticisms that get thrown at forums. Of course it is a cyclical so will probably be worth avidly reading again at some point but I honestly skip 50% of the threads these days as it they full of bog standard guff.

You are right Terry - all fighters seem to be a target but it is also a minority and even Smith had more defenders than critics on here as do all the current pro's. I do think there is a thin but distinctive line between a valid point of view and slagging a fighter off. I think with Tony Bellew and his fight with Nathan Cleverly - there was some right verbal shenannigans going on for the past 6 months and it crept over on here. I don't think it will stop till everyone has had their say, would it had been like this if both parties had been a bit more tranquil and respectful - I doubt it.

As for the forum and has it gone down the pan a bit? It seems so, I was thinking about this here in the desert and I am thinking it might be a temporary setback - I hope so, and I hope free speech and respectful viewpoints can be upheld on here.

[taffytoon]

I watched the fight again tonight with the sound down, whilst watching it live I had Clev wining by a small margin. Watching it back I noticed how many of Tonys punches missed and how many of Clevs landed. I honestly think boxing news had the score correct. I know you will say I am biased but please watch it back and see for yourselves, Tony misses a hell of a lot. If they were scoring shoulders he would have been a clear winner, I hope Clev moves onward without a rematch.

All the Bellew band wagon flame away as usual

[crusader]

117-111 is a horrible card. At worst Bellew won four rounds and split another (116-113).

[goldenears]

i'm a big fan of Tony's was desperate for him to win, particularly after the arse Clev's dad made of himself (altho a couple of tony's corner didnt do themselves any favours either)

ive not had the chance to watch it back , but i had Clev by 3 or 4 rounds because i thought he landed the quality shots and seemed in control, Tony's usual power didn't seem to be able to trouble Nathan seriously and Clev showed once again that he has a hell of a chin.

I thought Tony looked tired from round 4 onwards and much more effective when he used the jab and showed the boxing skills everyone knew he had from the ams. In the later rounds he tried and tried, but from my seat in the arena i felt like Nathan was pinching the rounds with a touch more quality and solidity to his shots, but was pushed closer than he's ever been pushed in a gripping fight.

There wasn't a huge amount between them, and some of those rounds could definitely have gone either way, and it was easily the best fight Clev's been involved in. For that alone the rematch has value, but unfortunately for Tony, it will have to be a little bit down the line because that's boxing.

Let's not forget though that Tony wanted to wipe the slate clean by boxing McKenzie again to rid any doubters so he's already proven that he's prepared to put up or shut up - and he definitely shut a lot of people up with a fantastic effort against Clev.

As I say, gutted, but I did think he had been edged on the night, and in Clev's defence, he's got to go and look for one of the big names in the LH division to earn the big money and try and get his name out there. At some point hopefully Tony will have worked his way into a position where the fight is worth making, but right now, with a belt and momentum, Clev has to look for the money fights and can't risk another fight where there's less $ and potential for worldwide coverage with a fighter who has just pushed him so hard. He needs a fight that announces him on the world scene if he truly has that potential, if he doesn't and loses to one of the top LH's then the whole game changes, but right now Clev has to look elsewhere, and Tony has to brush himself off, move on and even though he's lost his unbeaten record, i'm sure he'll realise that his standing actually was raised significantly by the manner of his defeat and the skills and heart he displayed against a very good fighter.

I'll continue to follow Bombers' career which has been entertaining from day 1 - for my money he's one of the most genuine boxing people in the sport, loves the game and he's got character, heart and can fight. He didn't go into hiding after his defeat like others have in the past either, he was out there the next day facing up to the good and bad comments. Fair play.

Was a great fight and a great night. One to be proud of.

I also thought DeGale was lucky to get the win, he looked a bit awkward and disorganised, against a tough but limited opponent. I like Jim Mc , but something needs to change if James DG is going to make the most of his talents.

[taffytoon]

Good honest post let us know your thoughts after you have watched it back. Same as you live I had it very close but watching it back it was a clear win for NC