• Boxing

Cleverly-Bellew winner set to face Hopkins

Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew were originally scheduled to meet in May © PA Photos

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WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly will defend his title in a grudge match against Tony Bellew on October 15, with the winner set to face American legend Bernard Hopkins.

Bellew was scheduled to face Cleverly during May, but was forced to pull out at the last minute because he failed to make the weight, having been drafted in as a late replacement for Jurgen Braehmer. Cleverly went on to claim his world title by stopping Poland's Aleksy Kuziemski within four rounds.

But Bellew made an impression at the press conference he held alongside Cleverly, labelling him a "f*****g rat", and so a rematch always looked likely. Now it has been confirmed the two will face off against each other in Liverpool - Bellew's home town.

"There has been a bit of a grudge developing over the years," Cleverly said. "It has been pretty inevitable because I turned pro at such a young age. I won the Commonwealth, British and European titles and now Tony is at this stage where I was a few years back.

"He is about six fights behind me but he has got his shot early. Does he really deserve a world title shot? No, but it is a fight that I want to get out the way. I want to get this fight out the way and move on to bigger things."

Fight promoter Frank Warren has revealed that the winner could face WBC champion Bernard Hopkins who, at 46, became the oldest man to win a world title earlier this year.

"This is a tough fight for both of them but there is something there for them afterwards," Warren said. "It is a big, big opportunity to go and do the business. It doesn't get any better than that. This is a lively division and it is going to get livelier."

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