Boxing Betting: Cleverly money on Bellew not going the distance

Boxing Betting / Paul Moon / 11 October 2011 / 3

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Cleverly (back to the camera) was just too good for Aleksy Kuziemski back in May this year

"Nathan Cleverly was quick to remind me that every one of his last 10 fights has been for a championship and he has won them all the hard way, while Bellew has modest winning form against B level fighters."

As ever, Paul Moon has had exclusive access to Nathan Cleverly's camp in the build up to another Championship fight. This time it's Tony Bellew who is trying to get the better of the Welshman but that's just not going to happen...

Every now and then in British boxing there is a domestic fight that the fans demand. One of those takes place Saturday October 15 2011 at the Liverpool Echo Arena when Nathan Cleverly defends his WBO light-heavyweight title against Tony Bellew.

Having witnessed the intense training of world champion Nathan Cleverly, I can confirm that there has not been an easing off since the Welsh boxer successfully defended his title against Pole Aleksy Kuziemski. He has trained harder for this fight than for the planned one against Juergen Braehmer and his training has been the most intense ever, leaving him in the best shape of his life.

His natural speed, allied with his emerging power, has been honed in unison and is the primary reason Bellew has little chance of upsetting the odds here (the challenger currently trades at [4.7]).

Father and co-trainer Vince Cleverly had this to say to Betting.Betfair about his visualisation of the fight: "Bellew will try and make it ugly. He is both limited and inferior and will hope to get lucky. He has a slight reach advantage but his tendency to come six inches too close will be his downfall. Despite his emotional and aggressive ranting, Bellew will be travelling backwards throughout the fight."

He continued: "Nathan is an athlete, has better angles, lateral movement and much faster hand speed. His power is building all the time and his intelligence is matched with his adaptability. Should Bellew land a right hand, it will be easily absorbed. There is not one aspect where Bellew is superior. What's more, the planned feral pre-fight talk usually used to try and gain a psychological edge has sensationally backfired."

The bad tempered build up has made many headlines and given the match a needle that the fans enjoy. There is a genuine dislike between the two camps and the fight will provide raw emotion.

Clearly Bellew is not in the same class as Cleverly. The view from the champion is that the Wavertree fighter will be a test, but not a Karo Murat. Bellew has spent time on the floor and does not deserve this shot at a world title but the timing of the fight suited both parties and tickets have been sold. Nathan Cleverly was quick to remind us that every one of his last 10 fights has been for a championship and he has won them all the hard way, while Bellew has modest winning form against B level fighters.

One disturbing and particularly unattractive aspect emerging from the principality is the lack of respect the Cleverly team has received for their achievements. There is a definite jealousy towards the Cefn Fforest fighter and some of it emanates from friends of former world champion Joe Calzaghe. This is something that Frank Warren has recognised but the camp rightly refuses to be affected by this. They remain hopeful that once their boy has beaten the better American fighters, his talent will be acknowledged globally.

After Cleverly (barring a minor miracle) beats Bellew, the attention switches to Bernard Hopkins' defence of his WBC light-heavyweight title against Chad Dawson, with talk of the winners of both bouts meeting soon, almost certainly in the Millennium Stadium. Preliminary talks are already under way making this a 'high stakes' bout though the author would like to see Cleverly fight someone like Zolt Erdei first.

When will Cleverley strike the fatal blow then? Latest Betfair Round Betting for Cleverly to win are: Round 1 [16] Round 2 [14] Round 3 [13] Round 4 [13] Round 5 [13] Round 6 [13] Round 7 [13] Round 8 [13] Round 9 [13] Round 10 [14] Round 11 [15] Round 12 [16].

Cleverly by KO, TKO or DQ is currently trading at [2.04] with Betfair and those odds represents real value...

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Phillips | 11 October 2011

Bellew is all mouth, he fought a bunch of ****** whith plenty of losses. Can't wait for cleverly to just ko this mouthy scouser.
Jason S | 12 October 2011

No doubt that Cleaverly will win this fight as he is a class above Bellew, I predict round 6.
Cleaverly can than step up to fight one of the top americans & then see how good he really is.If he wins that then he should finally get the recoginition as deserved, which would be similar to another X World Champion welshman!
Alan Starr | 12 October 2011

Cleverly has the class speed and is tactically more equipped than Bellew.
I do beleive Bellew will try everything he can to drag cleverly from his game plan and being in his own backyard will want to give his supporters something to cheer about.
I cant see that happening unless the real Cleverly does not turn up .

Cleverly will be too strong for Bellew and my prediction to win in either the eight or ninth round ,