It’s been four months since the pair first squared off at the infamous press conference at London’s O2 Arena and World Boxing Organization (WBO) Light-Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly now can’t wait to finally get in the ring with Tony Bellew.
There has been plenty of tension between the two unbeaten boxers heading into the October 15th blockbuster at the Liverpool Echo Arena, but Cleverly is looking forward to finally stepping between the ropes.
“I’m looking forward to the fight right now,” he said. “A lot has been said, and there has been a lot of hype around the fight, but I’m glad all the press conferences are done now and I can concentrate on training.
“We can finally get on with business, this is where the real talking begins – with out fists,
“I’m raring to go, I’ve been training well, there’s not that long to go until the fight and we can finally see who’s number one once and for all.”
During the five-month build up to the showdown there has been a lot of bad blood between the duo, however Cleverly has some respect for his rival.
“It’s a challenge and I’m not taking it lightly,” Cleverly continued. “I have respect for my opponent, at the end of the day once you’re in that ring you’ve got to have respect for your opponent,
“He’ll be in there trying to win the fight as well and anything can happen. In training, if you haven’t got any respect for your opponent it is difficult to get motivated and you’ll end up taking that attitude into the fight,
“It’s important you respect all your opponents, regardless of their records, weather they are a big name or not, you’ve got to appear like a champion and I’m making sure I do that.”
With that being said Cleverly hasn’t seen much from his opponent that is giving him sleepless nights.
“Tony’s recent performances have been okay,” the 24-year-old commented. “He had an up and down fight with Ovill McKenzie and I think that showed his level really.
“Obviously he won quite comfortably in the rematch, he boxed okay, nothing special but it was bad either, it was a solid performance.
“He’s going to be a decent test for me but I can’t see it being anything greater than that.”
Cleverly is currently unbeaten in 22 fights and will be looking to make that 23. Should he win, comparisons will start to be drawn with unbeaten Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe.
“It nice to be mentioned in the same way as Joe actually and in that type of company, and to be expected to emulated those kind of achievements is a bit of a boost for me,
“It shows people have expectations of me and they really expect me to go on and achieve big things. That in turn can give you great confidence and I do take confidence from that,
“In a way you really want to go out there and prove your supporters and fans right and not to let them down.”
Tickets, priced at £50, £100, £150 and £250, are available from:
Liverpool Echo Arena
Box Office: 0844 8000 400
www.echoarena.com
Frank Warren Promotions
www.frankwarren.tv
MORGAN PROUD OF EAST END TRADITION
Hot prospect Billy Morgan is looking to the East End’s tradition of great boxers as an inspiration as he looks to continue the successful start to his professional career.
The East End has a great boxing history and Morgan is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Terry Spinks, Nigel Benn and Kevin Mitchell.
Ahead of his fourth professional fight the unbeaten super-featherweight Billy Morgan has been training with father and son duo Jimmy and Mark Tibbs in Canning Town.
Morgan features on a four-round contest at the York Hall on Francis and George Warren’s first show for Queensberry Promotions on Friday 30th September.
“It’s great being a boxer and growing up in the East End of London,” Morgan proclaimed. “There is so much boxing tradition, with many great fighters coming from the area,
“As well as the great names of the past there are many current fighters from the East End doing well. I’ve had the opportunity to train with the likes of Kevin Mitchell and Colin Lynes,
“For someone just getting their professional career underway, it’s great to train and spar with guys of that calibre and they are great role models for me.”
Training with the likes of Kevin Mitchell and Colin Lynes, who have held titles at a number of levels, has given Morgan the inspiration to go and fight for belts himself.
“I definitely want to follow in their footsteps,” Morgan said. “I want to fight for the British and Commonwealth titles and hopefully the European and World titles. My dream is to fight for a world title in London.”
“Preparations have been going very well,” he continued. “I’ve been training for six weeks now both in the gym and on the road,
“I’m fit and strong and I’m ready for anyone, and I’m confident I can beat anyone they put in front of me.”
Being and East End boy from Canning town, Morgan enjoys performing at the famous York Hall venue in the heart of the East End.
“I love the York Hall, the atmosphere there is unbelievable,” he said. “I have boxed there as both an amateur and pro,”
“Professional boxing at the York Hall, nothing else compares to it and the atmosphere is fantastic,”
“While I’m only young and going up in the rankings it’s great to fight in front of my own people and to get the whole of east London behind me.”
A quality packed card is headlined by the exciting clash between Commonwealth Super-Featherweight Champion Liam Walsh and Paul Appley; chief support is Ryan Toms’ Southern Area Light-Middleweight title defence against Steve O’Meara; plus cruiserweight Tony Conquest, super-featherweight Billy Morgan, light-welterweight Peter McDonagh, lightweight Liam Shinkwin and the pro-debut of light-welterweight Eddy Hussein.