Nathan Cleverly suffered a points defeat to Poland's Andrzej Fonfara in Chicago as his bid to earn a world title fight took a major blow. The 28-year-old Welshman looked to suffer a broken nose midway through the contest, and the impressive Fonfara took the unanimous verdict of the judges. The Chicago-based fighter was given the verdict by 115-113 from one judge and by 116-112 from two.
CHICAGO - Hometown-favorite Andrzej Fonfara (28-3 16 KOs) outslugged former world champion Nathan Cleverly (29-3, 15 KOs) over 12 grueling rounds on his way to a unanimous decision on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Fonfara and Cleverly exchanged punches throughout the night with neither man yielding an inch of ground. Cleverly won rounds by throwing punches from awkward angles and by countering effectively. Fonfara never seemed phased by Cleverly's power however, and was able to impose his will as the fight wore on.
The days of Andrzej Fonfara sneaking up on the best fighters in and around the light heavyweight division are long gone. The all-action boxer from Poland – who now calls Chicago home – turned in a pair of impressive performances in a close loss to World light heavyweight champ Adonis Stevenson last May and most recently a one-sided stoppage win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in April.
CHICAGO, UIC Pavilion - In the televised main event for Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike, a high stakes light heavyweight showdown saw Andrzej Fonfara (28-3, 16 KOs) won a twelve round unanimous decision over former world champion Nathan Cleverly (29-3, 15 KOs) in a wild war. The scores were 115-113, 116-112, 116-112. The amount of punches thrown, and landed, set a CompuBox record at 175-pounds. Fonfara threw 1414 punches and Cleverly threw out 1,111 of his own.
CHICAGO - The weights are in and they are ready for battle as Andrzej Fonfara, Nathan Cleverly, Kohei Kono and Koki Kameda stepped on the scale and made weight for their Premier Boxing Champions on Spike showdowns from UIC Pavilion. Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Warriors Boxing in association with Matchroom Boxing, are priced at $151, $101, $51, $41 and $31, not including applicable service charges, and are on sale now.
Nathan Cleverly thinks Friday night's light-heavyweight clash with Andrzej Fonfara in Chicago will be even bigger than the world title fight he turned down. Former WBO champion Cleverly ended up rejecting a chance to face WBA champion Juergen Braehmer in favour of a fight with the dangerous Fonfara, who stopped Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in April. Fonfara is Polish but is based in Chicago and is likely to receive the bulk of the support when he faces Cleverly at the weekend, with the fight live on Sky Sports 1 from 2am on Saturday morning.
Nathan Cleverly says beating Andrzej Fonfara will be the biggest win of his career as the clash at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on Friday night, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on Spike in the US. Cleverly is back at Light Heavyweight to face the Chicago-based Pole, who is defending the WBC International title he won with a ninth round stoppage against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in California in April.
CHICAGO - Two days before they enter the ring, Andrzej Fonfara, Nathan Cleverly, Kohei Kono and Koki Kameda hosted a final press conference at DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Chicago as they near their Premier Boxing Champions on Spike showdowns from UIC Pavilion. Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Warriors Boxing in association with Matchroom Boxing, are priced at $151, $101, $51, $41 and $31, not including applicable service charges, and are on sale now. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or UIC Pavilion Box Office at (312) 413-5740. Tickets are also available at www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting the UIC Pavilion Box Office (Thursday or Friday 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.).
CHICAGO - "Chicago's Polish Prince" and top light heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara (27-3, 16 KOs) and his opponent, former world champion Nathan Cleverly (29-2, 15 KOs); along with reigning super flyweight world champion Kohei Kono (30-8-1, 13 KOs) and former world champion Koki Kameda (33-1, 18 KOs), worked out for the media today in advance of their Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike showdownsthis Friday, October 16 from UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Photos by Przemek Garczarczyk.
Nathan Cleverly says his upcoming bout with light heavyweight contender Andzrej Fonfara will be his toughest since he fought Sergey Kovalev. But while Cleverly lost to Kovalev by fourth-round technical knockout back in 2013, he believes the result will be different against Fonfara. “He’s a good fighter. He’s got an excellent resume. He’s coming off some good wins,” Cleverly said of Fonfara on an Oct. 8 media conference call, speaking about a week ahead of their Oct. 16 fight in Chicago on a Premier Boxing Champions broadcast on Spike TV