That fight proved Cleverly’s mettle, showing he can go into the breach and get the all-important “W.” “To be honest, I didn’t really feel the pressure up in Liverpool. I know it was hostile but I just thought, ‘Enjoy the moment.’ I thought [to myself], ‘As a world champion, are you going to crumble under this hostility or perform and prove why you’re world champion?’ I think that’s something that’s with champions; they can handle that pressure and come out victorious. I knew I could do it. I was just going out showing [everyone] I could do it.”
There are certain things that go with being a champion. Namely, there’s a target on your back. Former adversaries (Bellew) want a rematch, old allies (Enzo Maccarinelli) and fellow reigning champions (Beibut Shumenov) all want to mix it up with the young champion.
At the turn of the year, unification with Shumenov was mooted. Hall of Fame promoter Don Chargin, an advisor to Shumenov, reached out to promoter Frank Warren after reading stories that Cleverly was interested in a unification fight with Shumenov. Chargin says he twice spoke with Frank Warren Promotions’ matchmaker Dean Powell but didn’t hear back from anyone until the day prior to the Cleverly-Karpency fight being announced. “I thought that it was strange to get an email just yesterday asking what it would take to get Beibut to come to the UK, especially where we had been talking by phone and they never responded to our offer weeks ago for Cleverly to fight Beibut in Las Vegas,” Chargin said. “The next day, they announce a fight between Cleverly and Karpency? The truth of the matter is Beibut never turned down any fight against Cleverly because [Warren] didn’t make an offer to us. We offered them a fight against Shumenov in Las Vegas and they never even responded to that offer which, to me, means they turned it down. To say Beibut wouldn’t be ready in time to fight Cleverly in two months is quite amusing. Beibut’s been ready to unify since he first won the WBA title. I am terribly disappointed that they would make false statements like that.”
Cleverly’s father, Vince, responds in kind, “I was in Frank’s office with Nathan and Dean [Powell] and we received an offer but it was inadequate so we never even bothered replying, though we do think the fight will happen this year, once the financial situation has been resolved.”
With that behind him for now, Cleverly returns to work, this time at home where he fights for the first time in over four years when he meets Pennsylvania southpaw Tommy Karpency. It’s something he’s clearly excited about. “It’s a pleasure to return to Wales as a world champion. I’m delighted the arena is almost sold out, which is a boast to me; it shows the public have really got behind me. It’s going to be a special occasion for Welsh boxing.”
While Karpency admittedly isn’t one of the top light heavyweights in the world (something Cleverly agrees with), the titlist knows the pitfalls this sort of challenge could provide. “I definitely haven’t underestimated Tommy Karpency. He hasn’t come with the hype or his name up in lights like a lot of other opponents but that doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous. He’s tough; he’s never been stopped. He’s got a good record; he’s operated at cruiserweight, so he’s a strong fighter. He’s coming over to cause an upset but I’ve prepared the best I can, so there’s no slip-ups and just looking forward to not only winning but in very good fashion.”
There is obvious merit in building Cleverly’s profile more at home as Naseem Hamed, Ricky Hatton and former stablemate and mentor Joe Calzaghe have. He has very real plans to go stateside in the near future. “Every boxer who wants to reach the real heights of the sport would like to make a name for [himself] in America. That’s definitely in my future plans and something we’re working towards. I’m looking forward to the 25th. It’s being shown live in America [on the Epix network]; that’s just the start for me with regards to fighting over there in the future.”
It’s a massive weekend of Welsh sport, something that’s not lost on the patriotic Cleverly. “It’s great to be involved in. You’ve got Wales-V-England in the Six Nations [Rugby Tournament] in the afternoon, always great games, followed by my world title homecoming in the evening. Then we’ve got Cardiff City against Liverpool in the Carling Cup Final [English Football Tournament] the next day. It’s a great weekend. On a personal note, it’s fantastic to be involved.”
It all started for Cleverly when his father, who was friends with Enzo Calzaghe, recognised his talent from an early age and took his son to the same gym that brought us the younger Calzaghe. “Actually, though Joe’s Nathan’s hero, his first amateur fight was out of Fleur-de-Lys (A local boxing club a few miles away). Nathan’s first fight told me that he could do something in boxing; he has something different from the other boys. Being friends from our singing days, I knew Enzo and Joe had just beaten Chris Eubank for the world title, so I took Nath’ down to meet Joe and everything went from there really. Though we did travel to other gyms to keep Nath’ fresh with a change of scenery, so he trained under other people and he’s taken bits from everyone and moulded them into his own style to be the fighter he is today.”
The father-son relationship isn’t for everyone when it comes to boxing but there’s nobody Nathan would rather have in his corner when going into battle. “He was always there from the start. I kind of dragged him along to the boxing gym. Since my first amateur fight, my dad said he just knew then in his instincts that I’d be a world champion and could achieve great things in the sport. He pushed me with the training, supported me and now we have the rewards, which is very satisfying for both of us.”
While he’s firmly focused on his fight on Saturday, Cleverly hopes to set up a fight sometime around the middle of the year at the Cardiff City Stadium, home to Cleverly’s beloved Cardiff City Football Club and rugby team, Cardiff Blues. “That’s one of the targets for the summer. It’s got capacity for 30,000 for a major boxing event, so that’s definitely an ambition of ours. We’ve held talks with the stadium. It’s just getting through this fight and then have talks and find the right opponent.”
Piece by piece, step by step, Cleverly is making a name for himself in Britain first and foremost with a clear goal of globally raising his profile to make the big names across the pond sit up and take notice.
Cleverly-V-Karpency is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546). Join the action at www.boxnation.tv
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