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Quickfire defence 'not ideal' for Cleverly

Cleverly-Krasniqi will see boxing return to the Albert Hall for the first time in over a decade © Getty Images

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Nathan Cleverly admits that he feels rushed back into the ring to defend his WBO light-heavyweight world title against Robin Krasniqi as boxing returns to the Royal Albert Hall.

The Welshman has put his holiday plans on hold to face Krasniqi on April 28, just two months after defending his title against Tommy Karpency in Cardiff.

"To be honest I was expecting to be on holiday with my feet up having a rest after my last defence," said Cleverly, who beat Karpency by unanimous decision at the end of February. "Instead I am taking a defence at four weeks' notice."

The 25-year-old Welshman admits that such short notice is far from ideal given the prospect of victory sparking a potential unification bout against boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, but will not let that get in the way of an historic bout.

"I was just about to book a holiday to the Canary Islands for a bit of sun but I had to stop holiday hunting when Frank Warren told me the fight was on."

Cleverly's title showdown against the Kosovan, unbeaten in six years, sees boxing returning to the Royal Albert Hall for the first time in 12 years.

The West London venue is better known for hosting the Proms and the likes of the Beatles and Rolling Stones in its illustrious history as a music venue, but has also hosted world title bouts in the past.

"The holiday can wait until after the fight because this is a great opportunity - the Royal Albert Hall is a very prestigious venue and I am following in some great footsteps in boxing there.

"The reward is hopefully a huge fight in the summer, but I can't look past Krasniqi, he is a tough opponent. It's a world title fight, it needs 100 per cent commitment and that's what I will give, but it's not ideal preparation really.

"I've had five wins and five knockouts in London and the Royal Albert Hall is a great venue to tick off the growing list of iconic places I have boxed."

Victory would leave Cleverly facing another mandatory title defence against Dmitry Sukhotsky within 120 days, but plans to fight the Russian contender could be shelved if Hopkins can overcome Chad Dawson and set up a unification bout in the summer.

"I could only really face the mandatory challenger or a unification fight," Cleverly said. "It would have to be against another world champion otherwise it will be the Russian. But they would all be big fights so it's a good position to be in."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.