By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (27-1, 13 KO’s) and former WBC Silver light heavyweight strap holder Tony Bellew (21-2-1, 13 KO’s) will be in action on July 12th in separate fights at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sports wants them both on the same card in order to Whet the appetite of the British boxing public in a fight between them later on in the year on November 29th.
Hearn didn’t say who they’ll be facing on the July 12th card, but my guess it’s going to be a couple of harmless opponents that will make them look good, and won’t be a threat to beating them. The last thing Hearn needs is to put them in with a good opponent and watch them both get knocked out on the same card. Heck, Bellew almost got knocked out in his last fight against what some fans thought was a harmless 37-year-old Valery Brudov.
As things turned out, Bellew was badly hurt by Brudov in the 8th, and he took a real pounding from the Russian until stopping him in the 12th. Had Brudov been a little younger, I think he would have knocked Bellew out straightaway. But then again, I think Hearn would have dared match Bellew against a young Brudov. It looked like Brudov’s qualifications for that fight was that he was an older fighter who had one time had been an interim WBA cruiserweight champion 7 long years ago.
“The date we have for the fight [Bellew-Cleverly] is November 29th, so ideally July the 12th at the Echo Arena in Liverpool,” Hearn said to IFL TV in talking about the upcoming fights for Bellew and Cleverly.
Cleverly stopped Shawn Corbin in the 2nd round last Saturday night in his cruiserweight debut at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales. Cleverly had an easy opponent for his first fight in the division, and he did what was expected of him given the opposition he was in with.
Once the smoke clears from the Cleverly-Bellew rematch in November, those guys are going to need to figure out what they’re going to do in the cruiserweight division. I mean, what their goals are going to be, because right now it’s difficult to picture either of them being able to cut through the top contenders to get a world title shot. If Hearn is able to get a title shot for both of them without having them fight the top contenders then that might be the best option, because if you put Cleverly and Bellew in with guys like Ola Afolabi, Thabiso Mchunu and Rakhim Chakhkiev, I see bad things happening to them.
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