• Boxing

Froch crushes hopes of Cleverly showdown

ESPN staff
May 12, 2011
Nathan Cleverly laboured to a points victory in his last fight, against Nadjib Mohammedi © Getty Images
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WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch has poured cold water on talk of an all-British battle against unbeaten prospect Nathan Cleverly.

Cleverly, 24, has emerged as one of the brightest talents in the Frank Warren stable since turning pro in 2005, and will fight for the WBO light-heavyweight belt on May 21 against Juergen Braehmer.

He has placed himself on Froch's rader by talking up the prospect of a clash between the two, but Froch suspects any fight would be a mismatch given Cleverly's forgettable performance last time out, when he laboured to a points win against Nadjib Mohammedi.

"He is stepping up into world class now," Froch told the Express. "From what I have seen of Braehmer, he is a tough fighter, so we are about to find out what Cleverly is all about. At the moment I would say he is still at domestic level but, if he beats Braehmer, he will definitely go up another notch.

"I thought Cleverly's last performance was pretty poor, but all fighters can have an off-day and maybe that was his one. He certainly didn't impress me that much but, if he gets the nod over Braehmer, he will have a genuine world-class opponent on his record."

Whether a fight is feasible or not, Froch's horizon is dominated by the Super Six tournament, in which he will fight Glen Johnson on June 4. If he wins that, he will move into a unification battle against either Andre Ward or Arthur Abraham.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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