Cleverly vs. Karpency Preview: Start Time, Prediction and Schedule

The boxing world will get a shot of adrenaline on Saturday night when Nathan Cleverly puts his undefeated record on the line against Tommy Karpency. 

Cleverly is looking to get his career back on track with this fight. Despite holding on to a 23-0 record, he has failed to impress in recent bouts. His opponents have been lacking in talent, and he is struggling to get past them. 

Karpency is looking to make a name for himself in the most high-profile bout of his career. He is not seen as a significant threat, but anyone can land that one big shot to pull off an upset. 

Where: Motorpoint Arena in Wales, England

When: Saturday, Feb. 25 at 10:00 p.m. EST

Watch: EPIX Channel

Cleverly's Keys to Victory

Use his punching skills to overwhelm Karpency and defend himself.

Cleverly is still trying to rebound after a number of lackluster performances, including his last fight against Tony Bellow in October. 

His best skills are stamina and his ability to throw a lot of punches, so he will have to use them in order to frustrate Karpency. 

One thing that could be a problem for him is the lack of defense. Most of the time, fighters with great power will try to go all-in early. Cleverly will do that, except he has almost no power. He has to be able to keep his hands up to avoid eating hard shots. 

Karpency's Keys to Victory

Take advantage of Cleverly's lack of defense to stun him early

While Karpency is not being given much of a chance in this fight simply because he isn't a well-known boxer, he is not going to be a pushover against Cleverly. 

This will be the biggest moment of Karpency's career, and he wants to have a good showing in hostile territory. He can make a statement with a big victory, but this will be the greatest test he has had. 

If he can come in strong with effective jabs and then land one big punch, he can knock Cleverly to the ground and take advantage of this fight early. 

What They Are Saying

Nathan Cleverly knows that he is the heavy favorite coming into this fight. He knows that no one really knows Tommy Karpency, outside of the hardest of hardcore boxing fans.

That doesn't mean he isn't doing his best to sell the fight to himself and the fans.  

From Sky Sports:

"

It would be absolutely stupid and naive to underestimate any opponent in boxing, especially in a world title fight.

It would be recipe for disaster. A lot of people have written Tommy off, but they're not the ones who are stepping into the ring.

When you face another trained fighter, you must be on your game, especially at this level.

I've prepared even better than I have for any other fight. Tommy's got nothing to lose and can give it everything knowing there's a big prize at the end of the line.

It's my ambition to remain unbeaten and prevent that from happening. I want to enjoy the performance and put on a good display of boxing.

It could go the distance and the most important thing is that physically and mentally I'm prepared to go 12 rounds.

"

Prediction

While Cleverly is not the most technically sound fighter, he is superior to Karpency in virtually every way. 

Cleverly wins via unanimous decision.

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