Fonfara-Cleverly Tops 10/16 PBC on Spike Bill In Chicago

By Jake Donovan

On the heels of picking up the biggest win of his career, Andrzej Fonfara is ready to bring his talents home. 

The top light heavyweight contender will headline the October 16 edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike TV (9:00 p.m. ET/PT), as he faces former champion Nathan Cleverly. The scheduled 12-round bout will air live from UIC Pavilion in Fonfara's adopted hometown of Chicago.  

Airing on Spike, the network has a chance to add to its growing list of the Fight of the Year contenders it has produced in just the past five months. 

"Spike has been the home to some of boxing's most exciting bouts of 2015 including Marco Huck vs. Krzysztof Glowacki and Andre Berto vs. Josesito Lopez," said Jon Slusser, Senior Vice President, Sports, Spike. "We feel this trend will continue as Andrzej Fonfara vs. Nathan Cleverly is an equally matched fight that will bring a ton of action."

The fight was formally announced by PBC's press office on Wednesday afternoon, confirming a previous news break from BoxingScene.com. 

"I'm excited to return to my hometown of Chicago on this big fight night against a world class fighter like Nathan Cleverly," said Fonfara (27-3, 16KOs), who fights at the venue for the 14th time in his career. "This will be a tough fight for both of us. Cleverly is a solid fighter and it's no fluke that he was a world champion and that he defended his belt so many times."

The fight comes on the heels of his knockout win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. this past April in Carson, California. Fonfara agreed to a maximum catchweight of 172 lbs. for the sake of securing the fight, of the belief that it would take his career to new heights.  

Not at all affected by the weight, Fonfara forced Chavez Jr. to quit after nine relatively one-sided rounds. The win was his second straight following a hard-fought points loss to World light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson last May on the road in Montreal, Canada. 

As Fonfara has fought against the house favorite in his two biggest bouts to date, it is now his opponent's turn to visit the lion's den. 

Cleverly—a former light heavyweight champion from Wales who fights under Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing banner—has spent most of his 10-year career in the United Kingdom. The upcoming showdown with Fonfara marks just his second pro fight in the United States, the previous occasion coming in Nov. '12 when he knocked out Shawn Hawk in seven rounds in a light heavyweight title defense. 

The 28-year old moved up to cruiserweight after losing his title to Sergey Kovalev in Aug. '13, but has since opted to drop back down in weight. The move came with a stay-busy win in June while awaiting this opportunity to materialize.

"This is a major platform for me to prove that I am more than capable of becoming world champion again," said Cleverly (29-2, 15KOs), who has won four of his last five starts. "If I beat Fonfara it's a doorway fight to the world title and establishing myself as one of the best light heavyweights once again. 

"Fonfara is a good fighter. He's tall, has power and has moved up through the levels in his career. I am looking forward to coming over to Chicago and I am very confident that our styles will blend well for a really exciting fight."

The two fighters agree on the type of fight that figures to be generated, though naturally disagree on the outcome. While Cleverly views the matchup as means to return to the title fray, Fonfara has specific targets in mind—in particular, unfinished business at the championship level. 

"Our fighting styles guarantee that everyone can expect fireworks on October 16th," Fonfara insists. "I want this fight to be a quick stop on my way to a rematch with Adonis Stevenson."

The rest of the card has yet to be revealed. One rumored possibility for the co-feature is a super flyweight title fight between reigning champ Kohei Kono and Koki Kameda, who aims to become the first fighter ever from Japan to win championships in four separate weight classes.