Nathan Cleverly wants a piece of Pascal
With Jean Pascal’s colossal win this weekend over favourite Chad Dawson, just about every fighter under the sun wants in on the action. For fighters within the 168 – 175 pound range, Pascal is the now the keeper of ultimate respect. The latest to weigh on and ask for a piece of the Pascal pie is British sensation Nathan Cleverly (19-0, 9 KOs). Cleverly, who has an upcoming WBO eliminator match with Karo Murat, said they he has studied Pascal by watching tapes of his fights with Dawson and Carl Froch, and that he knows how to beat him.
"Now [that] Pascal has the Ring magazine title he's the man I want to beat," Cleverly recently told the BBC. "I followed Saturday's fight with interest. Dawson has been the man to beat for the last couple of years, but now Pascal has taken that crown. I watched his fight with Carl Froch and he's a great fighter, but Froch showed he can be beaten.”
He mused a bit more: "I've got respect for all the top guys in the light-heavyweight division, but I'm confident that this time next year I will be fighting them and I will be beating them."
To many Cleverly is still unknown, but make no mistake about it, he appears to be the real thing. The 23-year-old won all of the titles available to him shy of the world level—British, Commonwealth, and European—and keeps climbing up the ranks with spectacular fights. Many already call him the next Joe Calzaghe, and he is a huge sensation overseas. But before even being close to fighting Pascal, he’ll have his first true test against undefeated Murat (22-0,13 KOs).
The future looks promising to whoever wins this bout, and it really is a tough one to call, with Cleverly leading slightly as a favourite. Murat recently called Cleverly “mouthy” and said that he is “no Joe Calzaghe.” The comments sounded the bell for a verbal match before the real thing. In response Cleverly said that Murat had “angered” him, and vowed that he would “destroy” him in the ring.
“To me, it looks like Murat is the one who’s got a big mouth. But I’ll shut it for him when we get it on [...] Joe Calzaghe was probably one of the best fighters to ever come of out of Britain, and I’ve never claimed to be as good as him. I’ve had the best schooling by training and sparring with Joe for so many years, but now it’s my time to break through and become a big name.”
Some suggest that Cleverly may be counting on stardom prematurely, as he has yet to prove himself against worthy opponents. But with Murat he will have a chance. Both of these guys have demonstrated they aren’t paperweight fighters, but neither have yet proven they are capable of beating quality opponents at the top of the ranks.
Clever had more to say on his upcoming bout: “My fight against Murat is very important. Lose and I am back to the drawing board, win and I am in a great position. I'm sure Pascal will be tied up in rematch clauses with Dawson, but if I can win the WBO title, then a unification fight in 2011 would be fantastic."
Out of an active 43 light heavyweights in Britain, Cleverly is currently ranked number one. In international light heavyweight ratings he is ranked eighth, just behind formidable competitors such as Juergen Braehmer (current WBO champion), Tavoris Cloud, Dawson, Pascal, and Bernard Hopkins. Cleverly is an important part of a promising division. With the defeat of top-dog Dawson a range of exciting potential fights is available, and it only makes sense for Cleverly to throw his hat into the mix.
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