By Miguel Rivera
The World Boxing Organization has ruled that light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (24-0, 11KOs) must face a ranked opponent on November 10th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. If Cleverly is going to fight an opponent outside of the top fifteen, the WBO will only allow a ten round non-title bout. If the fight is going to be against a ranked opponent, then the winner will have to fight mandatory challenger Robin Krasniqi.
The winner of the next Cleverly fight, if it's for the title, will have to start negotiating with Krasniqi in 30 days. Cleverly was going to face Ryan Coyne, but legal issues are going to prevent that fight from taking place. Even against Coyne, the WBO will not approve the match as a title fight because Coyne is not ranked in the top fifteen.
And the WBO approved Sauerland's request for an eliminator between Juergen Braehmer and Eduard Gutknecht. The winner of that fight will face Cleverly or Krasniqi in 2013.
