Boxing: Nathan Cleverly Forced to Cancel Cruiserweight Debut Through Injury

Former WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly has been forced to withdraw from his fight at the Copper Box Arena in London this Saturday after suffering a back injury.

The 26-year-old was due to make his cruiserweight debut against Australian Daniel Ammann and was fighting for the vacant Commonwealth title, but the injury has ruled him out until 2014.

Cleverly suffered the injury last week during training and has been medically advised to withdraw from the bout.  The Welshman said he moved up to the 200-pound weight limit to improve his in-ring performances, and the Cardiff University graduate is disappointed his return to action has been delayed.

He said: “It’s a bitter blow as training had been going so well and I was looking forward to making my debut at cruiserweight. For it to only happen a week before the fight is even more devastating. I just want to get this year out of the way and enter 2014 with a clean slate and get my career back on track.”

Cleverly last fought back in August when he was knocked out by Sergey Kovalev, losing  his WBO title as a result. In the immediate aftermath of his loss, he even considered retiring as he struggled to come to terms with the loss. However, in October, Cleverly announced he would carry on his boxing career at cruiserweight.

Dereck Chisora headlines the event in London as he takes on Ondrej Pala from the Czech Republic in the first defence of his European heavyweight title.