By Alexey Sukachev

MORE LIVE RESULTS TO COME

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At the Echo Arena in Liverpool - WBO #1 (and The Ring #5) ranked Welsh light heavyweight Nathan Cleverly (21-0, 10 KOs), 23, one of the best British prospects around who was also said to be one of the rising stars of UK boxing, got a much needed trinket (the so-called "WBO Interim") around his waist... and a round of booes from the Merseyside public after a dubious unanimous decision over late sub Nadjib Mohammedi (23-2, 12 KOs) from France. Scores were 115-112 (Manfred Kuechler), 116-111 (Matteo Montella) and 115-113 (Charles Chenouf). BoxingScene saw it 114-114 - a draw.

Feeling that his physical conditions might be not enough for a full distance, Mohammedi, 25, started the bout patiently. Cleverly, who said afterwards that he "was preparing for a static boxer, not a mover", tried to establish some basics, including a sharp jab but failed badly. The Frenchman just proved to be too elusive and to awkward for more conventional boxer in the Welshman. The first couple of rounds was extremely uneventful with tons of tricks, threats and almost no actual boxing. Both fighters were afraid of the possible power of one another which was obvious for the late substitute. Rounds three and four were hardly better but Cleverly could get the edge by being a notch more active.

After the fifth a bad trend occured when Mohammedi finally started to pick up punches together and came on the offensive. He was circling around Cleverly, throwing punches, tying his opponent in close quarters and did many dirty tricks. The seventh round turned out to be a complete disaster for the rising prospect. Mohammedi landed several hard shots in succession and frustrated his opponent all round long. More to that, referee Dave Parris deducted a point from Cleverly for constant holding. The fight was going the Frenchman's way after the seventh stanza. After a boost in the corner, Cleverly tried to dig deeply and got some immediate success with several hard body blows which slowed Mohammedi down. In the ninth, Cleverly repeated his trick but concentrated more on Nadjib's head. The guest boxer landed several bombs of his own.

The tenth and the eleventh stanzas were pretty even as both boxers more clinched and worked in spurts than traded punches in the ring. Round twelve was fought on even terms as well thus resulting in a draw on this reporter's card. Cleverly got his piece of world championship. He will be a mandatory challenger for a winner of January 8 unification between WBA titleholder Beibut Shumenov and WBO stalwart Juergen Braehmer. That fight will be held in Shumenov's backyard of Chimkent, Kazakhstan.

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Highly regarded Irish middleweight  Matthew Macklin (28-2, 19 KOs) was very lucky to squeak out with a unanimous (and a bit controversial) decision over determined Spanish challenger Ruben Varon Fernandez (35-6, 16 KOs) to retain his European 160lb title. Though victorious, Macklin, who came into this encounter being ranked #4 by the WBC, #6 by the WBA/WBO, #7 by the IBF and #6 by the Ring, was very far from his best and didn't show he was ready for the best of the best in one of the sport's elite weight classes.

It was a slow start for Varon, 31, though. The Spaniard, whose best win came against then-unbeaten Lukas Konecny in 2004 and who lost via kayo to Sebastian Zbik in 2009, didn't start particularly strong. Macklin was better with his jab and power shots from both left and right hands. Varon found his rhythm in the third as he kept his opponent at bay with his tight aggression and sheer determination. He got even bigger in the fourth, using uppercuts to trouble the Irish boxer in close quarters. What was once thought to be an easy work for the champion turned into a war of attrition since then.

Round five proved to be possibly a crucial point of the fight. Varon dominated the round with his aggression but he was also deducted a point by Italian referee Giuseppe Quarterone for a low blow (he got a handful of warnings below it) thus making it an even round. Rounds six through eight were rather even with no one getting a real edge. But it was Varon who looked better working off his opponents body, slowly breaking him down and going forward despite eating one jab after another. Macklin was also successful with several hard shots but it wasn't enough to stop the Spaniard in his tracks.

Rounds nine and ten were possibly in Varon's who just pressed the action. Macklin did his best in last minutes of the stanzas trying to steal them with late-struggle efforts. He was a better fighter in the eleventh but the twefth and the last round was all Varon's. He hurt his opponent a couple of time and shook him badly with the time ticking off but Macklin barely survived with the help of tactical spitting of the mouthpiece.

At the end, all three judges saw it for Macklin: 116-113 and (way off mark) 116-111 and 117-111. British TV had it much closer: 115-113 - for Macklin, while BoxingScene had the Irish boxer just a single point ahead: 115-114.

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In an interlude, one of three Smith brothers - Liam - improved to 6-0-1, 2 KOs, after a two-round destruction of long-time professional loser Matt Scriven (14-77, 2 KOs). Scriven was wobbled badly by the right uppercut of Smith, and referee decided that that was enough at 2:48 of the second stanza.

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In the first part of the "Great Eight" (reduced to the "Super Six" after Wladimir Klitschko was forced to withdraw from his fight with Derek Chisora, and Frankie Gavin's fight had also been cancelled), WBO #1 welterweight Kell Brook (23-0, 16 KOs), 24, proved his immense power and fascinating composure in a terrific annihilation of presumably crude Ghanaian Philip Kotey (21-6-2, 15 KOs). The Englishman was a tornado of punches since the starting bell. He was all over Kotey who was terribly far from matching his opponent's blistering speed and multi-punch combinations. He was hurt with a big right to the body midst into the third minute of the starting stanza and went down after a huge "right hand - left hook" combination of Brook. The end was near but Kotey, 28, was saved by the bell. His defeat was only prolonged though - at 0:39 of the second round Spanish referee Manuel Javier Palomo stepped in and waved the bout of after another handful of Brook's hard combos which had the Ghanaian's legs all over the place. Another impressive performance by Kell Brook.

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Undercard results:

Larry Olubamiwo moved up to 10-1, with 9 KOs, after a hard-fought eighth-round stoppage of durable journeyman Paul Butlin (12-14, 3 KOs). Time of stoppage was 0:38. Olubamiwo saw the 8th round for the first time in his career and earned a vacant Intarnational Masters heavyweight title.

Undefeated prospect Joe Selkyrk retained his perfect record (6-0, 3 KOs) after a hard-fought tactical decision over technician Steve O'Meara (12-2, 2 KOs). The sole score was 59-57 - Selkyrk.

Former British Olympian (2000 Beijin) Billy Joe Saunders didn't disappoint in a two-round blowout of trialhorse Tony Randell (11-24-2, 4 KOs).

In a slow, tactical affair between two scillful prizefighters Joe McNally (8-0, 3 KOs) retained his unblemished record intact with a hard-fought four-round points victory over durable but feather-fisted Bertrand Aloa (15-8, 1 KO).

Bantamweight Paul Butler (1-0) made his pro debut a successful one with a decision over journeyan Anwar Alfadli (1-11-2). The sole score was 39-37.

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