A week on Saturday, at the Liverpool Echo Arena, our best two domestic cruiserweights will go head-to-head.
In what threatens to be a hostile atmosphere, Nathan Cleverly will venture into Tony Bellew?s backyard determined to inflict a second defeat on his rival.
But, despite losing their first bout several years ago, Tony Bellew is confident that the outcome will be completely different tonight.
Ahead of the bout the Liverpool born Everton supporting fighter has remarked about the changes he?s undergone since the last time the fighters met, commenting to the media,
?When I fought him the first time for the world title ? me a 16 fight novice and him a boxer who had only done the distance three times ? it was a bit of a joke.?
?As far as I?m concerned my first bout against Cleverly was just a domestic grudge match.?
?I have improved so much since then that I have no worries about beating him this time.?
?The comparison between me then and me now is night and day.?
Bold but confident talk from somebody with a point to prove, however you can?t get away from the dislike the two boxer shave towards each other, something that will, no doubt, give the fight that extra edge a week on Saturday.
Talking about his, in his own words, hatred for Cleverly, Bellew had this to add,
?I believe the hatred goes one way and that is from me to him.?
?I hate him and I don?t really care how people look at it.?
?Cleverly understands he can be hurt and he is a lot more vulnerable mentally and physically.?
?I don?t have to lose two stone to make the weight now and that is just a fact.?
?The first fight will bear no relevance to this one.?
?I can?t stand the fella and I get to do something about it.?
But could that desire, driven by hatred, act as a negative aspect when it comes to fight night, could Bellew get caught up in the emotion of it all and leave himself wide-open to a Cleverly attack?
All-in-all it promises to be an intriguing fight which, I believe, could go either way!
Bellew Berates Cleverly!
