Andrzej Fonfara vs. Nathan Cleverly: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

Andrzej "The Polish Prince" Fonfara defeated Nathan Cleverly by unanimous decision Friday night in an absolute war at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

Fonfara, fresh off an upset win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., kept up his recent run of great fighting, improving to 28-3 (16 KOs).

Cleverly made his move back to the light heavyweight division after a two-year stint at the cruiserweight level, where he went 2-1. He was fantastic upon his return despite the loss, dropping to 29-3 (15 KOs).

Here is a look at the judges' scorecards:

	Fonfara	Cleverly
Judge 1	115	113
Judge 2	116	112
Judge 3	116	112

The Friday night fight was historic, setting new CompuBox records in the light heavyweight division for punches thrown and landed, according to Premier Boxing. 

Here is a look at the stats, courtesy of CompuBox:

Fonfara	Stat	Cleverly
1,413	Punches Thrown	1,111
474	Punches Landed	462
746	Power Punches Thrown	597
395	Power Punches Landed	310

The evening had a flair for the dramatic, and it started early thanks to the entrance from Fonfara, who was the crowd favorite at the UIC Pavilion. It's Fonfara's second home, as he was unbeaten in 13 previous bouts at the venue.

SwansonComm took a look at Fonfara's garb while he entered the arena:

There was no dancing around or time to feel each other out. Both fighters met at the center of the ring and started throwing everything they had at each other—something that makes a boxing judge's job difficult. 

Cleverly was sharp with the jab, trying to combat Fonfara's size advantage and awkward approach. That didn't mean Fonfara was without his opportunities.

Actor and boxing fan Rosie Perez knew this was going to be quite a bout:

While Cleverly looked like the aggressor, he had to be careful not to open himself up to Fonfara. In the rare moments when he did, Fonfara was able to land a few nice blows on Cleverly. The challenger looked to slow down in the third round, the first the hometown favorite seemed to win outright.

But Cleverly came right back. He had the more accurate punches for most of the night and was feeling it in the fifth round, using a dramatic fake windup to show he was as confident as ever—almost urging Fonfara to make a move.

Cleverly continued to be demonstrative in the sixth, landing a combination and gesturing with his head toward Fonfara to come up with a response. He did, opening up Cleverly's nose with a big uppercut—surely breaking it. In reply, Cleverly took a step back, his face bloodied, and told Fonfara to "come on."

ESPN's Brian Campbell loved what he was seeing:

Cleverly's left ear opened up shortly after in the eighth round, but he continued to throw everything he had at Fonfara, though there wasn't much power behind it. 

One of his best moments of the match came in the ninth round after he landed a flurry of six to eight consecutive punches to remind Fonfara he wasn't going anywhere. Former super welterweight champion Sergio Mora was surprised the fight went as long as it did:

It was as even as a fight can be. Fonfara's power would not send Cleverly down, and Cleverly showed incredible grit and determination to make it through the 12 rounds. Both fighters left everything out there, dropping as many haymakers as possible within the last three minutes.

Fonfara paraded around the ring with a raised arm, while Cleverly seemed to sulk back to his corner when the final bell rang. But their post-match routines weren't indicative of how things played out. These kinds of matches need to be thrust into the national spotlight, as Fonfara and Cleverly provided a fight for the ages in a true battle of wills.