Welsh light-heavyweight Nathan Cleverly has admitted that the winner of his clash with Andrzej Fonfara is likely to earn himself a world title fight in 2016.
Cleverly turned down a fight with WBA champion Juergen Braehmer to meet Fonfara in Chicago, but the former WBO title holder feels that facing the Pole represents a bigger opportunity, especially with the encounter taking place on American soil.
The 28-year-old is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: "I declined the world title fight and I believe this is a bigger fight. It's probably a more difficult fight but it's on a bigger platform. It's in the States and I like fighting here, so let's do it.
"This will be my toughest fight I think, apart from Sergey Kovalev. I think Andrzej Fanfara is probably going to be the toughest. You know, his resume, his recent performances, he's looked good. So, yes, this is my toughest fight.
"But I've prepared well for this fight, I'm looking forward to it. I just think the winner of this fight, it's the gateway to the elite fights with Stevenson and Kovalev. This is the kind of eliminator for those fights."
Last year, Cleverly moved up to cruiserweight but a defeat to Tony Bellew resulted in him dropping back down to his previous weight class.
Darren Plant
