By Oli Smith
Nathan Cleverly has been riding a wave of success since wrenching the Commonwealth Light Heavyweight title away from Tony Oakey over 12 hard rounds. Four of his seven knockouts have come in his last four fights. Cleverly has always had the power to finish fights early, it has been the improved timing that comes with self-belief and experience which is enabling him to shine. Boasting a perfect record of 17-0 and having just started his third year at University studying Maths, things are looking very good for the one time sparring partner of Joe Calzaghe.
Courtney Fry meanwhile has found nothing easy to come by in his professional career. In his six years as a pro, he has had a turbulent time, compounded by a three stretch in which he only competed once. At 34 years old, questions over Fry’s longevity are bound to be raised. A former Commonwealth Gold medallist and three time ABA champ, Fry has long proved his pedigree in the ring, however a professional record of 13-2 (5KO’s) attests to the difficulties Fry has had in making the transition from quality amateur to quality professional.
At the York Hall in London, both men would meet for the BBBofC British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight titles. The first round started slowly as Cleverly demonstrated his superior hand speed, popping jabs at will, though Fry was able to catch most with his gloves. The 12 year age gap was immediately evident. Fry preferred to box just outside of range, he would step in and out, looking to counterpunch and take advantage of Cleverly’s loose defence. The first real success was had by Fry as he stepped in and launched an uppercut underneath the champion’s guard, catching him flush on the chin. Cleverly responded with stinging body shots and straight rights, whilst he would go on to win the first few rounds, he didn’t offer anything spectacular.
Continuing with his workman like style, Cleverly applied pressure and kept Fry on the back foot, firing his favoured body shot amongst the jabs he was able to take Fry out of his comfort zone on more than one occasion. A spearing right hand sent Fry reeling in the third, forcing him to hold on, in the forth, an uppercut from Cleverly caused the same result. These brief spells of action ultimately defined the fight as both men worked up close, the rounds would be punctuated with a flurry of activity by Cleverly, who wasn’t able to capitalise on his good work through the first half of the fight.
As the rounds wore on, Fry became more effective, owing mostly to Cleverly dropping the pace slightly, the challenger was playing on an even battlefield. Big left hooks by Courtney Fry knocked the spray from Cleverly’s forehead and encouraged the underdog to come forward more often. His hard work paid off with another eye catching left hook which could have changed the course of the fight had it been thrown with some real menace.
Though clearly a good prospect Cleverly proved easy to hit through the middle rounds. Fry is by some stretch the cleverest and most difficult fighter the young champion has had to deal with in his young career so far. Fry had the wits and skills to match Cleverly and cause him plenty of problems, he lacked youth and all the attributes that go along with it, that may have otherwise turned the fight in his favour. Nevertheless, he kept rounds close by ensuring Cleverly was always slightly off balance and not able to plant his feet and unload, when the champion did, Fry ducked and dodged his way out of trouble, for the most part.
By the eighth round, the fight had taken its toll on both fighters, Cleverly had been diligent in his work to the body, which was starting to pay off. A huge right hand shook Fry down to his boots, Cleverly didn’t allow him to hold on - in the end the finish was clinical - he stepped back, made space for his shots and unloaded. A volley of headshots, overhand rights and uppercuts saw referee Victor Laughlin jump in to save Fry from further punishment, who promptly fell on top of him.
Cleverly defended his title spectacularly in the end, although he found it hard to get going for the most part, against a man who could match his skills but whose chance came 12 years too late. Cleverly has been promised big things in his future and should go on to achieve them, so long as he learns along the way. He often came forward in straight lines tonight and offered very few angles, which would have otherwise enabled him to put much better combinations together. A man as wily as Fry was able to use this weakness against him and make tonight’s work harder than it had to be. Still, the European title beckons next, there is no good reason why Cleverly claim that title too, perhaps he needs those fights against top class operators to bring out the best in him. The Light Heavyweight division is full of marquee names and some of the best emerging boxing talent, very soon Nathan Cleverly will prove whether he belongs with them or not.