By Shaun Brown
Nathan Cleverly 26-1 (12) has his first fight under the Matchroom banner this Sat night at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena and despite thinking long and hard about ending his long-term association with previous promoter Frank Warren, the Welshman believes that a fresh start was needed all round.
“It was a difficult decision, don’t get me wrong,” the former WBO light heavyweight champion told BoxingScene.
“I’d been with Frank Warren from the start and to break away was difficult. I stayed loyal for a long time. I took a bit of time over the decision but ultimately I had to decide what was best for me. It’s only a short career in boxing and I just made that decision on my own. I had to take a step back and decide for myself.”
The Welshman leaves the 175lb division behind to begin a campaign at cruiserweight against Sean Corbin 17-4 (12) which will be shown live on Sky Sports. And the 27 year old is looking forward to going back to the very venue that was the scene of his first professional defeat to Sergey Kovalev last August.
“It was a great opportunity to come back to Wales and put the record straight after having that disappointing loss in front of my fans. I thought it’d be nice to come back and get back as soon as I can on that winning streak,” said Cleverly.
“I had a good offer from Eddie [Hearn].They kinda had a schedule for me and it was nice to have that stability and to know the direction I was going in. I felt reassured by that. I think that was the deciding factor really.”
To read a more extensive interview with Cleverly from earlier this month then click here: https://www.boxingscene.com/cleverly-fighting-cruiser-massive-challenge--77622
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