• Boxing

Khan better than Haye & Froch - Cleverly

ESPN staff
August 8, 2011
Nathan Cleverly won the WBO light-heavyweight title in May © Getty Images
Enlarge

WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly has warned Amir Khan that he is coming for his title of Britain's pound-for-pound king.

Cleverly is set for an autumn defence of the strap he won by stopping Aleksy Kuziemski in the fourth round of their May clash, before moving on to greater things in 2012.

Bernard Hopkins has been mentioned as a potential opponent for next year - and, while that may be a bridge too far for Cleverly given his lack of experience, he faces a race against time to get Hopkins into the ring as, at 46, he cannot have long left at the top level.

It will take fights against pugilists of Hopkins' stature for Cleverly to be discussed in the same breath as Carl Froch, David Haye and Khan.

"[Khan] won his world title, beat some top-class, dangerous guys and just won a unification fight for another version of the title," Cleverly told the Mirror. "He's not one of these guys who do all the talking but can't back it up and I respect that.

"He's probably the top British boxer at the moment but I want to challenge him for that mantle. In the next couple of years I want to be right up there and challenging the big American names, in big fights and unifying titles."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices