Cruiserweight

Cleverly has opponent for cruiserweight debut

Dan Rafael

May 1, 2014

Sergey Kovalev knocked Nathan Cleverly out in the fourth round last August © Getty Images

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Nathan Cleverly's cruiserweight debut has been on the schedule for a while for May 17 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff. Now the former light heavyweight titleholder has an opponent: Sean Corbin.

Last August, Sergey Kovalev blitzed Cleverly, knocking him out in the fourth round in the same arena to take his title and hand him his first defeat. Wales' Cleverly then announced he would move up in weight, although his debut at cruiserweight has been postponed for various reasons.

Corbin, 39, of Guyana, has won two fights in a row but has been knocked out in all four of his defeats, including by light heavyweight contender Karo Murat and former European cruiserweight champion Mateusz Masternak. Corbin owns a 2012 decision win against former cruiserweight world titleholder Wayne Braithwaite.

Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn, who announced the match-up, said he is interested to see what Cleverly can accomplish in the new weight class.

"I can't wait to see Nathan back in action at cruiserweight," Hearn said. "Corbin has only been beaten when he has stepped up to top level and will come into the fight with plenty of size and ambition. Nathan must win and look good doing so with so many huge fights just around the corner."

Cleverly-Corbin is one of the featured fights on a card headlined by Lee Selby against Romulu Koasicha in a featherweight title elimination bout.

This article originally appeared on ESPN.com