Cleverly looking to make his comeback in the near future.
Nathan Cleverly has insisted that he would “destroy” Tony Bellew if they were to meet again at cruiserweight after his rival made his debut in the division.
The Welshman won their first meeting back in 2011 at light-heavyweight, with a majority decision in Liverpool.
However, having lost his world title to Sergey Kovalev in August 2013, Cleverly has not boxed since but has, like Bellew, made the step up to cruiserweight and is set to make an announcement in the coming days over a potential return to the ring.
However, with Bellew mocking him after beating Valery Brudov last Saturday, Cleverly insists that he would be happy to face his rival again and is confident that the outcome would be the same as their first clash.
“I was watching at home and was actually laughing at the TV,” he told Ringside, as reported by Sky Sports.
“It’s all good fun and I take it with a pinch of salt basically. But when it happens, he’s going to get spanked again.
“I think Tony’s only chance to beat me was in that fight in Liverpool.
“I was 24, I went into the fight at several weeks’ notice, in his backyard and that was his best chance of beating me.
“Now I’m at cruiserweight, I am 27 and I’m not yet at my peak but heading towards it.
“I am going to destroy this guy when we fight again.”
It remains to be seen what Cleverly decides to do next, while Bellew has insisted that he is looking to climb the rankings quickly in order to secure world title fights given his age.
Nevertheless, if the public demand is there then the two rivals will not hesitate in setting up a rematch if possible, as the war of words is likely to continue on until they meet.
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