Adrenaline-fueled, Bellew needed calming down 30 seconds into the fight for leading in with his head. Following the time-in, Cleverly unleashed his single fire shots and his combination work. An accurate jabber, Cleverly controlled the centre of the ring while Bellew boxed in circles.
In round two, both fighters traded sickening body blows. Attempting to gain the edge, Bellew sought to attack Cleverly and give him a taste of his power early on. Forcing the defending champion back onto the ropes, Bellew unleashed his characteristic bombs, however, when he took a step back, Cleverly showboated by sending his arms into the air, shook his arse and stuck his tongue out.
Due to a stern upright guard, Bellew’s lead shots would often be blocked or cushioned by Cleverly’s shield in the opening stages of the third round. If his first jab failed to connect, though, the second would be the one that landed as the speed of his double jab proved difficult for Cleverly to work against.
By the fourth, Bellew exacted a superiority with the jab, out-jabbed Cleverly and was also out-boxing the Welshman. Cleverly slipped shots with his head and upper body movement as his defensive skills foiled some of the incoming blows yet the difference in their attacks was marked as it was the challenger who had built up the early lead.
Uppercutting, body-shotting and sending in short-range hook punches, Cleverly’s work-rate reached his regular standards in the fourth, however, he had to be warned for low-blowing midway through the round. Toe-to-toe battling, both Bellew and Cleverly refused to back off and proudly battled it out from the centre of the ring to the ropes.
Cleverly’s best shots of the fight up to the midway stage had all been the right uppercut. He went to the body first looking to soften up Bellew, before tagging the Liverpudlian with the chin bound upper. Leaking claret from his nose, Bellew returned to the corner having taken harsh punishment in round six.
Sensing Bellew was slowing down, Cleverly went to work in the seventh. Bellew was double-jabbing only seldomly and his power punches lacked the pop from his second round performance thereby making his punches easier to avoid. Bellew backed himself into a neutral corner toward the end of the round, goading Cleverly onto him as he refused to back down, finished the round strongly and stole the ten score that the champion had been grasping.
In the eighth, Cleverly clubbed right hands over the top, landed his jab and was getting the better of Bellew because of his preserved stamina. Showing good foot skills in the ninth, Cleverly jigged into and out of the pocket. When inside, he connected and, when zipping outside, he avoided Bellew’s jab. It was Bellew, though, who had control of the centre of the ring as Cleverly was reduced to moving around the ring’s periphery.
Bellew tested Cleverly’s chin numerous times in the tenth, in particular with the left hook and then the right hand but Cleverly hung on, against the ropes, and even raised his hands like he had done earlier as if to say he was not damaged. This, after Cleverly punished Bellew with his own right cross.
In the penultimate round, Cleverly attempted to take the fight back into the inside and targeted his body before teeing off on his head. Bellew, meanwhile, wanted the contest to be fought with Cleverly’s back to the ropes.
Putting the rivalry to one side in order to pay respect, both fighters bumped gloves before the beginning of play in the final stanza. Bellew landed a body shot of note during the opening minute while his attentions to the head were blocked by Cleverly’s guard. It was the Welshman who appeared to have the greater accuracy with left hooks and right hands. Requiring a good finish to safeguard title retention, it was Cleverly who looked sharper at the end of the championship.
Both fighters celebrated at the finish as Bellew mounted a turnbuckle and saluted his home support while Cleverly punched the air sent growling smiles around the ground.
“I knew he was going to be dangerous after the first three,” Cleverly said following confirmation he had been awarded a majority decision win. “I thought he’d tire more than he did. He was a brilliant challenger.
“What I wanted to do tonight was come to Liverpool and fight in a dangerous opponent’s backyard. It was a crowd pleasing fight and congratulations to Tony. We both took big shots. It’s inevitable. It’s boxing. I took big shots, I didn’t panic under pressure and came up with shots of my own, the uppercuts and the body punches.”
He continued by declaring his intention to seek a unification contest at light heavyweight: “I’m going to watch Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson very closely. I’d like to fight the winner, if not then Beibut Shumenov.”
Sweat soaked and with tear-filled eyes, an emotional Bellew said: “I’m devastated. I can only apologise to my two kids. I give him all the credit in the world. I might have thrown the bigger punchers but he threw more. He took them well. He’s a good champion. I’m telling you – he’s got a good chin. I just want to say sorry to my two little boys.”
With the win, Cleverly rose to 23-0-0, 11ko while Bellew fell to 16-1-0, 10ko.
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