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Preview: Nathan Cleverly, Tony Bellew and Dereck Chisora Fight for Titles

Christopher HeathmanNov 25, 2013

Now that the dust is starting to settle from the weekend's major British boxing attraction, in which Carl Froch controversially defended his WBA and IBF Super-Middleweight title against George Groves, it is time to look forward.

This weekend sees three British boxers fight for three different titles in three different weight classes, but only one is fighting for a world title.

First up, on Saturday, Nathan Cleverly takes on Daniel Ammann in his Cruiserweight debut for the vacant Commonwealth title. On the undercard of that event at the Copper Box Arena in London, British Heavyweight Dereck Chisora defends his European title for the first time against Ondrej Pala.

Then, in Quebec City, Canada, Tony Bellew will challenge for a world title for the second time in his career. He takes on Canadian Adonis Stevenson for his WBC Light-Heavyweight title.

So what can we expect from these three title fights?


Nathan Cleverly Returns Against Daniel Ammann

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Former WBO Light-Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly returns to the ring just a few months after losing his World title via TKO against Sergey Kovalev.

This time, though, the Welshman will be fighting at Cruiserweight and fighting for the Commonwealth title against Australian Daniel Ammann.

The jump to 200 pounds from the Light-Heavyweight limit of 175 pounds is a a sizeable one, but Cleverly has admitted it was an inevitable move. Now feeling comfortable without sacrificing meals and limiting his strength training, the Cardiff University graduate believes his performances will benefit hugely from the move up.

His opponent, Ammann, is a southpaw but technically is outmatched in this one. Although he has won his last eight bouts in a row, Cleverly will be a huge step up in competition seeing as his last fight was against a man with a negative record.

After looking physically weaker and smaller than Kovalev in his last bout and after being knocked down so many times, there will be question over how Cleverly can fair in this much heavier weight class. The Welshman is taller and has a bigger reach than Ammann, but if the Aussie, who is much more comfortable at the weight, can use his physical strength he may be able to prevent the former world champion gaining any sort of rhythm.

However, failing Ammann catching Cleverly cold, he will be able to use his reach and superior boxing to keep the 30-year-old at bay and pick him apart. If he does have the extra "pop" in his shots from the leap in weight then he will also be able to cause some significant damage.

Dereck Chisora Making His First European Title Defence

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"Del Boy" Dereck Chisora is on a bit of a roll. After being floored by David Haye at Upton Park last year, the 29-year-old has won three in a row, all of which have come via TKO.

In his last outing in the very same arena he will be competing in this weekend, Chisora won the European title against Edmund Gerber. He was dominant for most of the fight and finally finished it in the fifth round when the referee stepped in.

Planning for his first title defence has been difficult. His opponent Ondrej Pala is his third choice after both his initial challenger Arnold Gjergja, and then his replacement Italian Matteo Mudugno, were forced to pull out due to injuries.

His new opponent, from the Czech Republic, is 32-3 and has 21 KO's to his name. He is a heavy-hitter who has already held the WBO European title, but lost that to Konstantin Airich of Germany via TKO.

Despite the short notice change, "Del Boy" should win this in comfortable fashion. If he can put Pala under constant pressure through a high volume of punches, he could even finish it early.

Tony Bellew Has a Second Chance at a World Title

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Liverpool's Tony "The Bomber" Bellew will be fighting for much more than a European or Commonwealth title at the weekend as he takes on Adonis Stevenson for the WBC Light-Heavyweight title.

It is "The Bomber's" second shot at a world title at 175 pounds after he lost to Nathan Cleverly two years ago by split decision. The WBO title fight took place in Bellew's back yard at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, but this time he will be going behind enemy lines to challenge once again.

He will be taking on Canadian Stevenson in Quebec City, Quebec at the Pepsi Coliseum. For the British fans it will be the early hours of Sunday morning when this bout takes place.

Although Bellew goes into this world title fight with momentum, he is very much the underdog. In terms of power and strength Stevenson outmatches the WBC silver light-heavyweight champion and the level of opponents he has fought recently is also more impressive.

He stunned fans with his first round knockout of Chad Dawson to win the WBC title, but against Tavoris Cloud he put on an exhibition which showed he is not just a one trick pony and finished the fight in round seven to cap off an excellent performance.

Bellew may have a height and reach advantage, but the punching power of Stevenson will be a huge factor unless the Brit can keep him at range.

In his first bout with Ovill McKenzie he was knocked down twice in rounds one and two respectively before recovering and scoring a TKO of his own in the eighth. He was also knocked down by Bob Ajisafe during his first Commonwealth title defence, but again he recovered and won by decision.

He may have the ability to stand back up and recover from early knock downs but against Stevenson he is unlikely to get the chance. If he lands like he did against Dawson or is able to pick his shots like he did against Tavoris, then Bellew will not have the chance to land some heavy shots of his own.

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