CLEVERLY’S DEFINING MOMENT

Welsh ace Nathan Cleverly says his fight with Juergen Braehmer on Saturday night is his “defining moment”.

Unbeaten Cleverly meets the dangerous German for the WBO World light-heavyweight title at The 02 in London in the main event, with chief support seeing the grudge fight between James DeGale and George, live on Sky Box Office.

The 25-year-old from Cefn Forest believes he is ready to come of age, as promoter Frank Warren looks to some huge fights if he wins..
“Ricky Hatton fought Kostya Tyszu, Joe Calzaghe beat Jeff Lacy, this is a similar kind of fight,” said Cleverly.

“My whole career has been building towards this moment, and I’m ready to take it with both hands.

“Winning a world title has always been my dream, ever since I was 10 or 11 years old.

“To face an established world champion, on a massive night of boxing, is what I’ve always wanted.

“I’m so fired up for this fight and I believe that it’s my time.

“I was ringside for Calzaghe-Lacy. It was an evening when Joe made the world sit up and take notice of him. I’ll do the same against Braehmer.

“DeGale is in a real grudge fight against Groves, but I guarantee that my fight against Braehmer will have just as much spice if not more.”

Meanwhile Warren says he will be watching Jean Pascal’s WBC World light-heavyweight title showdown with Bernard Hopkins, which also takes place on Saturday night, with interest.

He’s keen on matching Cleverly with the winner – and other top names such as Chad Dawson and Tavoris Cloud.

“I got the Hopkins fight for Joe Calzaghe, and I would love to bring him over to face Wales’ new star, Nathan Cleverly,” said Warren.

“This light-heavyweight division is red hot at the moment.

“You’ve got quality fighters holding the belts, and the world’s top five is dominated by Americans.

“This really is a massive opportunity for Cleverly, but he’s got Braehmer to deal with first on Saturday night which is a tough, hard, fight for him.

“The fight is going out live on EPIX in the States as well, so he’s got a massive platform on which to make a huge statement.”

‘This Is It’ featuring DeGale v Groves and Cleverly v Braehmer is exclusively live on Sky Box Office HD from 8pm on Saturday 21 May. To order the event call: 08442 410 888