Questions will be asked of one of boxing's brightest young stars this evening when Nathan Cleverly attempts to capture the European title, live on Sky Sports from 8pm.
22 year old light-heavyweight Cleverly has already picked up both Commonwealth and British honours during his short career but he knows that adding the European crown to his trophy haul would see him ranked amongst the top ten fighters on the planet at his weight.
The University educated Maths student from Cefn Forest in Wales has kept his feet firmly on the ground despite remaining undefeated throughout an eighteen fight career and with established names such as Prize-Fighter Tony Oakey and Olympian Courtney Fry already on his hit-list, there have been flattering comparisons already made between the young orthodox and another indestructible Welshman – Joe Calzaghe.
With an eighth round KO victory over Courtney Fry in his last outing being the 6ft 3inch orthodox’s third straight stoppage win in a row; bookies expect him to once again outsmart his opponent, with the lightweight 1/8 from Victor Chandler being the biggest price available.
Few give travelling fighter Antonio Brancalion much of a chance but one thing is for certain, if Cleverly has also taken him lightly there will be a heavy price to pay.
34 year old Italian, Brancalion is a two weight champion in his homeland but what’s more, the fourteen year veteran of the fight game is a former holder of Saturday’s prize, and will be determined to return the European title to its former home in Italy.
The 6ft 1inch orthodox may have lost seven of his forty-one outings but he is better than his record suggests and having contested over one hundred and seventy-five competitive rounds more than Cleverly, he should give the intelligent favourite plenty to ponder.
The British champion was far from impressive in his last outing, with Courtney Fry able to upset his rhythm at ease during the early rounds, and with the Italian’s experience, he is sure to come intent on frustrating the younger man.
Cleverly has learnt nothing from recent opponents such as Kenya’s Samson Onyango and having been lightly matched throughout his career, the 7/1 (Stan James) about an upset may prove too good to ignore for some.
With eight of Brancalion’s last ten outings being settled on the judges’ scorecards, whilst both of Cleverly’s last two have progressed beyond the seven round mark, the 4/7 (Bwin) about over 7.5 rounds looks like the safest punt of the evening whilst fans of small stakes and big returns may want to look at the 14/1 available about Brancalion on points.
On the undercard, hot prospect Kevin Mitchell should continue his form with another impressive win over Columbian Ignacio Mendoza.
The away fighter has stopped over half of the men placed in front of him but `Mighty` Mitchell should know enough to box his way to victory. The 8/13 (Skybet) about over 7.5 rounds catches the eye.
Fans of the slow moving, big hitting heavyweights will be in for a treat when Carl `The Fridge` Baker tackles undefeated Finchley prospect Derek Chisora. This will be a million miles away from big time heavyweight boxing but there should be plenty of thrills and spills to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Baker famously destroyed Danny Williams in last year's Prize-Fighter but that contest was over just four rounds and he seemed out on his feet going into the last. It's a ten round duration here and Chisora will be strong enough to put his man to the sword with a stoppage victory priced up at 1/2 with Skybet.
