It was overall, a great weekend for Welsh sport. Not only did their rugby team come back from a stuttering start to claim victory against England in the Six Nations, but the pride and joy of their boxing; light-weight chamion Nathan Cleverly, extended his unbeaten run to 24 fights. The fight was on the whole a grueling contest, which although Cleverly definitely dominated, was an excellent bout. On a night when Cleverly had predicted a proud home coming, his performance was more than adequate.
Prior to the fight, critics had been uncertain about his choice of opponent, American Tommy Karpency. Having already lost 2 fights in his professional career, Karpency was a man who had demonstrated that he was far from invicible. Cleverly meanwhile, had a professional record of 23-0. All the while however, the Welshman stuck by his guns, stating that Karpency would prove to be more tricky and determined than he had been accredited thus far. Once more, his prediction was spot on.
 |
| Cleverly is announced the winner as his record moves to 24-0 |
From the early rounds, Cleverly pressed often, with Karpency being put under large spells on pressure, and struggling to land any serious blows himself. As the fight developed, Cleverly only reinforced the notion that he was by far the superior fighter, but at not one point did his opponent even remotely look like throwing in the towel. Despite numerous barrages from Cleverly, Karpency came back time and time again. At times it was almost though he was even surprising himself, as he would recover from a number of hard blows, shake his head in order to reignite his senses, and then march forward into a flurry of punches once more. Some will argue that there was never a part of the fight where Cleverly seemed anywhere near losing, and I would be inclined to agree, but you still have to give credit to his opponent for taking it the distance. The judges all scored the bout in favour of Cleverly and the Welshman celebrated another impressive defence.
Now onto his future. For Cleverly, there are two things on his mind that he has the personal ability to address. For one, he is looking at becoming the recognsied best light-heavyweight in the world, and who would doubt him at the moment? And then there's the task of bringing Welsh boxing back onto the scene, in the same prominance as it was delivered in the glory days of Joe Calzaghe. Speculating about his possible future match ups, Cleverly highlighted his ambition to step into the ring with the legendary Bernard Hopkins, a fight where serious money could be made given the reputation of Hopkins, matched with the potential of Cleverly. The Welshman specified that he wanted to bring the possible mega-fight to his home city of Cardiff, where he fought Karpency, but there may be an even grander stage waiting in the wings.
 |
| London's Royal Albert Hall- Cleverly's next stage? |
The Royal Albert Hall in London is a venue that hasn't seen a boxing fight in 13 years. There is no question that it is an illustrious arena, and for Cleverly, it might be the place where he begins his ascent to his dream of unifying the titles. Having defended his title on Saturday night in Wales, Cleverly is in the position to pick and choose where his next bout takes place. His promoter, Frank Warren, has already expressed his desire to have it in the Royal Albert, and this might be a decisive factor come decision time. Cleverly, has indicated that if and when he fights Hopkins, he wants it to be in Wales. This can only mean that he will fight once more before the possible mega-fight, with that bout taking place in London's Royal Albert Hall.
Regardless of where he ends up fighting though, Cleverly's next few fights will be watched with intriguing anticipation.
For more information on Cleverly's bout with Karpency, and his intentions, see:
-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxing/9107050/Nathan-Cleverly-wants-WBO-light-heavyweight-defence-at-Royal-Albert-Hall-after-defeating-Tommy-Karpency.html
-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/feb/18/nathan-cleverly-tommy-karpency-wbo?newsfeed=true
-
http://www.boxingscene.com/cleverlys-return-royal-albert-hall-grand-event--50037
