Nathan Cleverly will now make the first defence of his WBO World Light-Heavyweight title against Aleksy Kuziemski from Poland this Saturday at the 02 Arena in London. Liverpool’s Tony Bellew, who had stepped in this morning to replace Juergen Braehmer, has been beaten by the scales to make the pre-fight weight check today.
Whilst Bellew was really up for fight, the boxer and his manager Frank Warren, felt it was too big a ask and that the boxer’s safety has to be paramount.
The unbeaten Welshman, declared World Champion by the WBO today after Braehmer was stripped, now tackles the number 14 ranked Kuziemski who was considered as a challenger to Cleverly before Bellew put himself forward for the fight.
From Swiece in Poland, but now based out of Hamburg, Germany, Kuziemski has a good record of 21 wins from 23 fights and is the former WBO Intercontinental/German/EBA Light-Heavyweight Champion.
“I think I’ve been through everything in the last 48 hours, the main thing for me is that I’m still fighting and that all my hard work has not gone to waste,” said Cleverly.
“It’s been a mad time, but I’ve been through this before and I’m professional enough to deal with it, let’s face it, any problems after this fight will be nothing in comparison,”
“I’ve got to get my head round to focusing on Kuziemski now, he is the man in front of me on Saturday night so I’ve got to forget about Bellew and Braehmer altogether,”
“He’s got a good record, he’s highly ranked and he’s been in with some good guys so he won’t be a pushover.”
“Friday Night at the Fights” Card, Junior Hockey Championships Go Hand-in-Hand
TORONTO, ON – (Thursday, May 19, 2011) With the Hershey Centre in Mississauga celebrating 10 years of boxing action, and hosting the crowning event of the Canadian junior hockey season, fight promoters United Boxing Promotions and Hennessy Sports Canada are relishing the idea of further marketing their sensational “Friday Night at the Fights” card, set for June 24th, to an expanded audience.
With tens of thousands of sports fans expected to crank the turnstiles between May 19th- 29th for Canadian junior hockey’s marquee event, the two boxing entities have teamed up to produce a series of hockey-themed commercial spots and fight posters to promote their star-studded event, headlined by NABA Lightweight champion Logan Cotton McGuinness, and world-ranked welterweight contender Victor Lupo in separate bouts.
“With the Hershey Centre’s brand new HD screens, this is a great vehicle to let all the hockey fans know that the Hershey Centre is hosting not only the best junior players in the world, but on the 24th of June, they could see a truly world class boxing event in the very same building,” said Tyler Buxton, of United Boxing Promotions.
“This is the 10th year of boxing at the Hershey Centre, and there’s no better way to promote our biggest card yet than by reaching out to all the fans at the premiere junior hockey event in the country.”
“Plus,” Buxton added, “If you’re at the tournament, look closely in the stands, and you’re bound to see some of our fighters. Most of them are big junior hockey fans, and will be out at the pulling for the Mississauga St. Mike’s Majors to bring the title home.”
Tickets to “Friday Night at the Fights” start at $30.00 and can be purchased at the Hershey Centre box office, or through Ticket Master by dialing 416-872-5000, or by going on line to ticketmaster.ca.