BoxRec

says it's official, according to Kathy duva, promoter of kovalev.

http://www.BS.com/cleverly-kov ... ned--66863

cleverly vs kovalev. HBO with multi-fight deal for the Russian.

Great news! Hopefully Nathan can do the job and win some fans over

It is on, Horse I hope you are coming to Cardiff. I would love to meet you. PM me if you are and we can meet up.

taffytoon wrote:It is on, Horse I hope you are coming to Cardiff. I would love to meet you. PM me if you are and we can meet up.

So we can have a dust-up?

I think FW deserves some credit for this as people are always quick to criticise him on here.

Riddick Blowe wrote:Don't believe Kovaleverly will happen for a second. Why would Warren suddenly throw Nate to the wolves like that after what we've seen so far?

Suspend your disbelief

So someone has finally called their bluff. Really hope it goes ahead now. We need to see if cleverly has the minerals for the top

columbo wrote:I think FW deserves some credit for this as people are always quick to criticise him on here.

I can't believe you're so quick to jump in with this comment - FW has made matches like this numerous times only for the fighters to never end up in the ring together.
Happy to be proved wrong, but I still don't think the fight will happen.

Deserter wrote:

columbo wrote:I think FW deserves some credit for this as people are always quick to criticise him on here.

I can't believe you're so quick to jump in with this comment - FW has made matches like this numerous times only for the fighters to never end up in the ring together.
Happy to be proved wrong, but I still don't think the fight will happen.

Yeah but to be fair Deserter, he's also made a lot of these kind of fights that do happen! For instance... Calzaghe vs Lacy, Calzaghe vs Kessler, Calzaghe vs Hopkins, Degale vs Groves and so on.

It sounds like Cleverly v Hopkins was practically done according to Kathy Duva

columbo wrote:

Deserter wrote:

columbo wrote:I think FW deserves some credit for this as people are always quick to criticise him on here.

I can't believe you're so quick to jump in with this comment - FW has made matches like this numerous times only for the fighters to never end up in the ring together.
Happy to be proved wrong, but I still don't think the fight will happen.

Yeah but to be fair Deserter, he's also made a lot of these kind of fights that do happen! For instance... Calzaghe vs Lacy, Calzaghe vs Kessler, Calzaghe vs Hopkins, Degale vs Groves and so on.

Firstly, they're far outnumbered by the matches that didn't happen. Secondly, the common denominator in most of those is the risk/reward ratio added up. With this one, it's far more debatable and Kovalev by stoppage will surely be the most likely outcome.

Horse wrote:

taffytoon wrote:It is on, Horse I hope you are coming to Cardiff. I would love to meet you. PM me if you are and we can meet up.

So we can have a dust-up?

Come off it, Horse, the first time you'd get hit you'd complain about him being rude to you

dookus wrote:Come off it, Horse, the first time you'd get hit you'd complain about him being rude to you

That would depend on whether it was a cheap shot or not.

Horse wrote:

taffytoon wrote:It is on, Horse I hope you are coming to Cardiff. I would love to meet you. PM me if you are and we can meet up.

So we can have a dust-up?

I was thinking more of a chat and to introduce you to team Clev but whatever floats your boat mate

taffytoon wrote:I was thinking more of a chat and to introduce you to team Clev but whatever floats your boat mate

That sounds nice, but I'm probably not going.

columbo wrote:

Deserter wrote:

columbo wrote:I think FW deserves some credit for this as people are always quick to criticise him on here.

I can't believe you're so quick to jump in with this comment - FW has made matches like this numerous times only for the fighters to never end up in the ring together.
Happy to be proved wrong, but I still don't think the fight will happen.

Yeah but to be fair Deserter, he's also made a lot of these kind of fights that do happen! For instance... Calzaghe vs Lacy, Calzaghe vs Kessler, Calzaghe vs Hopkins, Degale vs Groves and so on.

Firstly, they're far outnumbered by the matches that didn't happen. Secondly, the common denominator in most of those is the risk/reward ratio added up. With this one, it's far more debatable and Kovalev by stoppage will surely be the most likely outcome.[/quote]
In the press conference FW kept saying how he viewed this as Nathans 'Jeff Lacy' I get the feeling they genuinely want this fight. It could be that they're underestimating Kovalev which is what it sounds like to me!

If Cleverly wins this fight my respect for him will go up a metric shitload - Kovalev was an excellent amateur and is a really dangerous pro so far.

i prefer kovalev's style, but i'm hoping cleverly can pull it off.

on the plus side, kovalev looks and moves like a guy who had a big amateur career and went in the pros late. in his technique he looks mature, but he does look a tad soft, heavy in the legs - like a guy who's had some wear before he went pro.

cleverly often looks raw or even untutored, however he has that extreme, lean, hard and hungry look. this could be the fight to establish cleverly. I hope he uses some of his speed, boxes responsibly and with some offensive imagination. I imagine he'll have to shrug off some heavy artillery, so hopefully that chin, and that engine, holds up.

kovalev's not done more than 8 rounds, that a split verdict over darnell boone. if cleverly can weather some certain early onslaughts, what's the challenger going to be like, away from home, vs this fit, sinewy young man?

It's on August 17th

Judgement day looms for Clev then.

If he wins he deserves credit, as Kovalev is a fundamentally sound, big hitting opponent who so far has shown he belongs at the top end of 175lb so far.

The keys to victory are: Stay out of his way until at least round five and then drill him with everything.

Nearly all of his stoppages come in the first three rounds, but he could be another Victor Oganov, where his KO's are outrageous early doors, then he falls apart by the mid point. But so far he looks technically sound and a decent size at the weight limit - He looks legit to me.

Definitely looking forward to it.

G0mez wrote:Judgement day looms for Clev then.

If he wins he deserves credit, as Kovalev is a fundamentally sound, big hitting opponent who so far has shown he belongs at the top end of 175lb so far.

The keys to victory are: Stay out of his way until at least round five and then drill him with everything.

Nearly all of his stoppages come in the first three rounds, but he could be another Victor Oganov, where his KO's are outrageous early doors, then he falls apart by the mid point. But so far he looks technically sound and a decent size at the weight limit - He looks legit to me.

Definitely looking forward to it.

X2

Nowt wrong with this fight at all. If it happens.

While I favor Kovalev, he tends to throw many punches early, usually stops his opponents quickly, and has never fought several rounds against a world-class opponent, or at least an opponent close to that level. If the fight goes several rounds, Kovalev's power and stamina may deplete significantly and he may lose confidence. Cleverly's chin is solid and his stamina is very good, so I think he has a realistic chance of surviving the early rounds and generally outworking Kovalev over the following rounds to win a decision.

Then again, Kovalev may have very good stamina and carry his power into the late rounds, he may set a lower pace than usual to adjust for going more rounds, and he may not be deterred if things aren't going all his way or as he's used to.

I'm interested in how he copes if he's forced to go several rounds at this level.

i'm hoping cleverly will be properly sharp, alert and throwing straight shots, using variety - like he was all that time ago vs danny McIntosh. I want to see him become that fighter again - maybe it'll take a risky opponent to bring the best boxing out of him.

kovalev's combinations really do a lot of damage so I hope cleverly will be careful early.

Looks like this is on now.

Seem Kovalevs last 2 fights on youtube and he looks legit. Will be a class fight IMO. Clev gets way too much stick on here. Yes his oppostion has been poor ( though it seems Braehmer is in no rush to fight him ...again) but he has an exciting style and comes across as a likeable guy.

Time will tell I guess but I'm pretty excited about this fight. 2013 has had some storming fights so far I think this will only add to it.