Cleverly Retains WBO Title By Getting Past Gritty Krasniqi

Last night at London’s Wembley Arena, WBO light heavyweight king Nathan Cleverly retained his belt with a 12 round unanimous points verdict over challenger Robin Krasniqi.

Krasniqi came into the contest as the WBO’s European titlist but had never faced an opponent at world level, and the gulf in class between the Germany based Albanian was apparent from the first bell.

Cleverly exploited his size and reach advantage throughout the fight, using his stiff jab to both keep the challenger on the defensive and set up further offensive forays.

Krasniqi was overwhelmed in the first half of the contest, on the receiving end of shots upstairs and down along with the ever present jab of Cleverly. There simply weren’t many opportunities for Krasniqi to go on the offensive.

Beginning in the sixth, Cleverly took his foot off the gas and that allowed Krasniqi to step up his efforts and get into the bout. The challenger proved adept at landing some leather but couldn’t string anything together as Cleverly wouldn’t allow him to engage.

By the eight, Cleverly was back to using the jab and controlling the action. Krasniqi tried to shake off the yoke in the ninth, giving a spirited effort but by the tenth, Cleverly’s dominance was clearly evidenced as the Welshman battered the challenger.

The final two frames featured Cleverly doing enough to keep Krasniqi, who never stopped trying, in check, racking up a victory, 120-108, 120-108, 119-109, to move to 26-0 (12). Krasniqi now stands at 39-3 (15).

Cleverly will now hope to get a long awaited match-up this Autumn with IBF champion Bernard Hopkins, who defends against Karo Murat in July.

If the bout comes off, it will pit Cleverly’s youth and energy against the experience and toughness of the 48 year old Hopkins and should be a terrific contest.

Chief support at Wembley featured a Commonwealth super flyweight title battle, as challenger Paul Butler, 11-0 (6), halted champion Yaqub Kareem, 10-3-1 (7), with a devastating body shot at 0:24 of the fifth.

35 year old former two-time WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison, 27-3-2 (15), saw his comeback derailed as he lost a hard-nosed tear up at lightweight with undefeated 26 year old southpaw prospect Liam Walsh, 14-0 (10), by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 98-92, for the WBO European crown.

Former WBO cruiser champ Enzo Macarrinelli and ex-world heavyweight title challenger Dereck Chisora also were victorious in their bouts.