Nathan Cleverly vs. Tony Bellew 2: Winner, Scorecard and Analysis

Tony Bellew, fighting in front of a hometown crowd at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, defeated rival Nathan Cleverly via split decision (116-112, 115-113, 114-115) in a 12-round cruiserweight contest that didn't quite live up to the excitement of their first meeting over three years ago.    

Bellew earned sweet revenge for his 2011 loss to Cleverly, in which the Welsh boxer snatched the WBO World light heavyweight title from a then-undefeated Bellew. 

Sky Sports provided a look at a triumphant Bellew at the end of the bout, prior to the scorecard announcement:

The final third of the fight was clearly dominated by the hometown hitter, which of course led to shock over how the result could have possibly been a split decision.

Nascent professional pugilist Ohara Davies was surprised by the outcome: 

"

I agree that Bellew should have won tonight, but that should NOT have been a Split decision, wow

— Ohara Davies (@OharaDavies) November 23, 2014"

The fight was at odds with the one-sided nature of some of the undercard bouts, especially Anthony Joshua's powerful first-round TKO victory over Michael Sprott. Prior to the fight, Bellew noted the result would come down to Cleverly being able to trade blows for the duration.

"We will find out on Saturday night who is mentally strong and who breaks who. When he gets hit cleanly let's just see if he wants to come out and carry on trading," he said, via a report from BBC.com.

Indeed, both Cleverly and Bellew came out swinging, trading glancing blows for much of the first four rounds. Physically, Bellew looked ever so slightly paunchier than in his previous bouts and didn't move around the ring quite as well.

Scott Heavey/Getty Images

Cleverly was on the ropes early on, but his punches were much cleaner than the erratic straights and jabs thrown by Bellew. BBC Radio found the third round to be especially close:

There was some notable power coming from both fighters, especially Bellew, who was unafraid to throw combinations and work Cleverly's head.

As the fight grew on, it became increasingly clear that Cleverly was unwilling, or perhaps unable, to throw a right at Bellew. The Times' Tony Barrett noted Cleverly's reluctance midway through the match:

Indeed, the opportunities to throw a combination were there at times as the aggressive Bellew left himself open at various points, but Cleverly hardly made an attempt with his right. Instead, the 27-year-old fighting out of Caerphilly, Wales, worked the jab as often as possible while putting in a solid defensive effort by dodging many of Bellew's shots aimed at his head.

Scott Heavey/Getty Images

Bellew improved as the fight went on, although his accuracy still left much to be desired and both fighters were breathing heavily by the halfway point.

ESPN's Dan Rafael gave him the eighth round despite his apparent handicap:

After the eighth round, the fight clearly belonged to Bellew. Cleverly had very little left in the tank and did all he could to hold on against Bellew. It was somewhat disappointing to see the fight come to this and some observers may wonder how the 31-year-old Liverpudlian couldn't be more decisive and land cleaner blows against his beleaguered opponent.

Bellew's growing advantage came to a head in 11th round. He forced Cleverly into the ropes for nearly the entire three-minute period, swinging away with all the strength he had left, although few blows landed cleanly. It was all Cleverly could due to fend off the ragged assault, as both fighters were clearly winded by this point after punching so wildly in the early rounds. 

Cleverly eventually moved off the ropes, but he didn't appear to have much fight left in him, a disappointing development considering the hype coming into this contest.

The final round was the same tired dance as the previous one. Cleverly was unable to fight back with his right arm folded up against his side like a chicken's wing. Bellew pressed his advantage, and it was enough to convince at least two of the judges that he deserved a victory on Saturday night.

It will be interesting to see if a rubber match between these two comes to fruition. The fight lacked drama in the latter half, but the split decision might give Cleverly cause to think he can take Bellew on in a rematch and settle this fierce rivalry, as long as he uses his right hand.