By Scott Gilfoid: Tired of IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) turning down fights against him, WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (26-0, 12 KO’s) decided to give it to Froch with both barrels on Tuesday, blasting him for failing to accept the offer to fight him and reminding him how he was out-boxed by Andre Dirrell, Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler in the past.
Cleverly’s promoter Frank Warren is saying he offered Froch 2.5 million pounds. That’s some serious green.
Cleverly said to the telegraph.co.uk “I was prepared to come down from light heavyweight to make it happen…I see him as deluded…He was out-boxed by Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell and Jermain Taylor…he knows my style would beat him.”
Wow, I’m speechless. Cleverly really let Froch have it, especially by reminding him how Taylor, Dirrell and Ward out-boxed him. I totally agree with Cleverly. Those guys all out-boxed Froch and made him look bad in showing their skills. Those were masterful performances from those three and Froch could easily have three losses in those fights instead of one.
I’m been kind of wondering about why Froch hasn’t accepted a fight with Cleverly. In the past, I figured it was because Cleverly was too obscure to fight, but now that he’s a little better known and has the WBO strap in his possession, I don’t understand at all why Froch isn’t accepting a fight with him. And when you talk about all the cash that they’re waving in front of his snoot with the 2.5 million pounds, how does Froch say no to that kind of cash.
Cleverly will be fighting on August 17th against an opponent still to be determined at the Motorpoint Arena, in Cardiff, Wales. He wanted to fight Sergey Kovalev, but it looks like Main Events is holding off on that fight now that the IBF has ordered IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins to face Kovalev next. That’s the fight that Kovalev really wanted because Hopkins is a legend and he’s a star in the United States.
You can’t say the same for Cleverly. He’s not well known in the U.S, and he’s definitely not a legend, so it’s kind of a no-brainer why Kovalev might be leaning in that direction. That doesn’t mean he’s going to get the fight because he may not get it if Hopkins chooses to fight a unification bout to avoid it or if he gets permission from the IBF to bypass the fight so that Hopkins can get another fight in.
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