Clev whistles past first mandatory Krasniqi at Wembley

It was a typically tidy display from Cleverly (12st 6lbs 8oz), whose workrate and shot selection bamboozled the Kosovo-born German throughout much of the fight. Krasniqi (12st 5lbs) was able to find the target on occasion, but couldn't produce anything powerful enough to mar a slick performance from the Cefn Forest fighter.

Clev started with a harder than usual back foot jab which kept Krasniqi well away in the opener. Fast combinations included a right hand, which stiffened his opponent’s legs momentarily, but the response banished the chance of a first round stoppage. Krasniqi wasn't hurt badly.

For the first five rounds, Krasniqi looked highly uncomfortable with the relentless waves of attack coming from Cleverly. His limited responses were somewhat spiteful, and he was able to find Cleverly's chin, but there's nothing wrong with the Welshman's whiskers - he was usually moving backwards when Krasniqi connected, limiting the effectiveness of his shots.

The sixth round was much better from Krasniqi, as Cleverly switched off and allowed him in close. One could argue that Krasniqi also deserved the seventh. Although less industrious than the previous round, he landed the most eye catching punch - a straight right just before the bell.

From this point, Cleverly dominated the fight, both defensively (a flicked out a jab which frustrated rather than damaged) and through mixed up flurries of attacking shots which Krasniqi couldn't match. He came looking for Cleverly in the closer, but faced a hands-up defence and fast footwork. Wild, tired swings were slipped with ease by the WBO champion.

Two judges scored a shutout 120-108, with one scoring 119-109. BoxRec News charitably gave Krasniqi the sixth and seventh, scoring 118-110.

After the fight, Cleverly said: "At this level it's important to break your opponents down because these are world level fighters, 12-round fighters who are very tough, so you can't be gung-ho and reckless.

"I was surprised he went the full 12 rounds because I hurt him early on with the right hand and I thought that sooner or later he'd go. But he dug in, was very hungry and kept fighting back. It was important that I stayed focused and boxed."

One of the TV analysts made a point of mentioning "the amount of stick that Nathan gets". As far as I can make out, this is mostly levelled at the quality of opponents he has faced thus far as a champion, rather than any direct criticism of his skills. This convincing win against Krasniqi probably won't do anything to staunch this, even though he is a level above recent opposition.

With regard to his skills, Cleverly's defence has been questioned. He leaves himself open to shots. But does it matter if you can soak them up à la Froch?

Some also question his power. But does it matter if you can thoroughly outbox your opponent à la Calzaghe?

Cleverly's inactivity had caused a mini-pile up of WBO mandatory challengers. Having cruised past Krasniqi, next in line for a shot is supposed to be Juergen Braehmer (39-2), who outpointed Germany-based Kazakh Eduard 'Eddy' Gutknecht (24-2) for the European title in February, and is down to defend it next weekend.

It may be the case that Braehmer can be sidestepped, perhaps due to previous unreliability. Indeed, it wouldn't be unfair to suggest that Cleverly's promoter is risk-adverse with his champions, which is understandable to a point while awaiting the right financial opportunity. As an unbeaten WBO champion, a unification fight should set Cleverly up for life.

It's time for his promoter to suss out that opportunity. Cleverly has been fiercely loyal, and is desperate to test himself against the best. Despite a thorough search, there's nothing to suggest to me that he isn't capable of passing it.  

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