Nathan Cleverly came into this fight very calm, and he was definite that he would get the job done. While many people thought that McIntosh would be Cleverly's biggest challenge to date, the Welshman never seemed convinced of that, and he comfortably did away with the confident challenger in the end, winning the British light heavyweight title and retaining his Commonwealth crown in the process.
What Happened in Cleverly vs. McIntosh
Cleverly started fast and took the first round quite comfortably. He set up his body shots well and generally pushed the pace.
The second went as well as it possibly could have done for Cleverly. He knocked down McIntosh twice with hooks to the head, and it looked as if 'Clev' was going to make short work of his foe. McIntosh tried to show Cleverly that he wasn't hurt, but the writing was on the wall even at this stage.
McIntosh was down again in round 3, with another right hook that evidently caused him problems. However, he recovered quite well, and Cleverly slowed, making it look like he had punched himself out trying to get rid of his steely opponent.
In rounds four, five and six, Cleverly showed his class. He picked the perfect shots, and while McIntosh always had a puncher's chance, he had no answer to the undisputable class of Cleverly. The body shots were working superbly and a right straight hurt McIntosh in the fifth.
However, round seven marked the end of the fight and McIntosh was put out of his misery. He went down again after yet another hook, and after that, it was apparent he was all in - he had nothing left. The referee then stopped the Cefn Forest native dishing out any more punishment, and Cleverly walked away with a new belt and a TKO victory.
After the fight. McIntosh was very respectful to Cleverly and acknowledged that 'Clev' was the better fighter. To be fair to McIntosh, it was hard to argue against this. Cleverly took hardly anything, but dished out a lot. He looks a really good prospect right now.
Fury Demolishes Dreadful Opponent
Speaking of prospects, Manchester heavyweight Tyson Fury was on the undercard. He took apart Aleksanders Selezens easily, and stopped him for the first time in his career. Fury is finding it hard to find people willing to fight or even spar him, and it showed with a rusty third round TKO win.
After the fight though, Fury stated that he'd be in great shape for his upcoming fight against John McDermott, and that he'd definitely be taking the English Title from the fighter he coined 'McMuffin'.
Thaxton Handed Defeat
Plucky bricklayer Tom Glover defeated Jon Thaxton over eight rounds in a back and forth contest. Unfortunately, this version of Jon Thaxton doesn't look anything like as good as the Thaxton of a year ago, and maybe, his seventeen years as a pro are starting to tell.
Credit must be given to the ever improving Tom Glover though. He has been matched tough since the start of his career and no one expected him to come away with the win, but he used his weight well and hit 'Jono' with some meaty shots. He looks like he could be a handful for English light welterweight champion Adnan Amar.
In the fight, Thaxton looked exhausted by the halfway stage, and had a point deducted for holding. A match against ex British Champion John Murray looks in danger now, as Thaxton looks well and truly in decline.
Novelty Occasion As Women's Boxing Airs Live on British TV For First Time Ever
Big Brother contestant Angel McKenzie was involved in the first ever live women's boxing match on British TV on the card as well. She outpointed Lana Cooper, who has as of yet not won a contest. While the match was unspectacular, the crowd got into it, and it was a change from the norm.
Cleverly vs. McIntosh Wrap Up
On Saturday night, Nathan Cleverly looked brilliant. He picked apart an opponent with an undefeated record and good credentials, and it looks like he could go all the way. A grade 'A' performance from the maths student from Wales.
