Juergen Braehmer vs. Nathan Cleverly: Fight Time, Date, Live-Stream and TV Info
Like the motion picture Avatar, a fight between light heavyweights Juergen Braehmer and Nathan Cleverly has been a long, long time in the making.
The duo were scheduled to meet in 2011, only for then-WBO champion Braehmer to pull out at late notice due to a cut suffered in training. His failure to make it to the O2 Arena in London meant he surrendered his belt to Cleverly without ever making it to the ring.
Now, five years on from the missed opportunity, the pair will try again, only this time in Germany.
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Braehmer puts his WBA title on the line this weekend on home soil at the Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg.
However, having to travel for the opportunity to win a world title again shouldn't concern Cleverly, who had a brief stint campaigning at cruiserweight before dropping back down to 175 pounds last year.
When: Saturday, October 1, 10 p.m. BST (5 p.m. ET)
Where: Jahnsportforum, Neubrandenburg, Germany.
TV: SAT.1 (Germany) Sky Sports (UK)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK)
No Place Like Home
Braehmer has fought just once outside of Germany in a 50-fight career—and even then it was only a short trip to Hungary to take on Aleksy Kuziemski in 2009.
His no-show in London was a disappointing way for his reign as WBO champion to end, yet the 37-year-old doesn't feel much has changed since the pair were first scheduled to meet.
"This fight is five years in the making, and I believe that it has got bigger over the years and the interest in it has only grown," he told Sky Sports (h/t Matt Horan of SkySports.com). "I rate Cleverly the same as I did in 2011, he has the same offensive style and I know how to prepare for him."
What certainly hasn't altered since then is the number of losses on Braehmer's record.
The southpaw has not tasted defeat since losing to Hugo Hernan Garay in November 2008. Since then, he's reeled off 17 wins on the spin and become a two-time world champion.
Take the streak on face value and it's hard not to be impressed. However, delve a little deeper and you notice there are not too many noticeable names on Braehmer's long list of victims.
Per The Ring magazine's rankings, the southpaw from Stralsund has not faced another member of the top 10.
Still, a record of 35 KO victories should not be sniffed at. While Braehmer may not always be stretched by the toughest level of competition, he often finds a way to get rid of his foes before the final bell.
If he can find a way to stop Cleverly—whose only career loss inside the distance came against Russian Sergey Kovalev—it would be his most impressive result to date.
Last time out: Beat Eduard Gutknecht on points (March 12, 2016)
In a rematch of their 2013 bout, Braehmer defeated Gutknecht on points for a second time. The challenger, who was deducted a point in Round 10, had stepped in at relatively short notice following the withdrawal of Thomas Oosthuizen.
Career Crossroads
To suggest it is a must-win fight for Cleverly is perhaps going a step too far, considering he is still only 29.
Yet it's hard for the Welshman to deny he's at a crossroads in his career. He will have lost four of his last seven bouts if he fails to grab the title at the weekend, a worrying number for a boxer with a degree in mathematics from Cardiff University.
Admittedly, one of those defeats came against rival Tony Bellew up at cruiserweight.
The move up to a new division may have made life easier on the scales for Cleverly, but carrying a few extra pounds didn't do him any favours in the ring at all.
Since dropping back down to light heavy, the former world champion has had one walkover win and one absolute war.
He needed just 24 seconds to see off Tomas Man last May, but he couldn't shift Andrzej Fonfara five months later during 12 brutal rounds in Chicago, Illinois.
Cleverly—who suffered a broken nose and needed blood drained from a damaged ear—lost on points, yet he showed a hunger (perhaps due to the weight limit) that had been lacking since losing to Kovalev in 2013.
Revitalised and ready for the chance to finally face Braehmer, Cleverly has appeared confident of victory in the buildup.
"I don’t feel we’ve seen the best of what I can offer, and getting my hands on that belt will allow me to showcase what I can really do and make this second phase of my career the best yet," he said in a Matchroom Boxing press release.
The stakes are high for Clev; win and he can contemplate potential unification fights, lose and he may find himself stuck in limbo.
Last time out: Lost to Fonfara on points (October 16, 2015)
According to CompuBox, Cleverly and Fonfara combined to throw 2,524 punches, landing 936 of them. The latter came out on top on the scorecards to retain his WBC International title, although he has since lost the belt inside a round against Joe Smith Jr.
Prediction
Cleverly's background in numbers won't help him solve the equation of beating Braehmer on German turf—but his boxing skills might.
The challenger opted to go toe-to-toe with Fonfara, a brave decision that won him some new fans in the United States but resulted in him losing the actual fight.
Braehmer's power means Cleverly shouldn't be looking to stand and trade too often. Instead, by boxing from a distance, he can pick off the champion and pick up the belt.
A result inside the distance seems unlikely either way, but Cleverly has the technical ability to triumph on points.
Bleacher Report will be running a live blog for the main event on Saturday. Join us from 9 p.m. BST (4 p.m. ET) for updates on the action.
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