The business of British boxing has depended on the strength of domestic rivalries and, up until recently, there were few all-British grudge matches where both fighters involved were operating at the world level. With the obvious exemptions of Eubank, Benn, and Michael Watson in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, there was a real thirst for leading British names to have a domestic, world-title dust-up.

That’s not to say there weren’t rumblings of one. The Junior Witter and Ricky Hatton fight, which never happened, would have fitted this bill in the mid-2000s. Joe Calzaghe had some great battles with domestic, world-level rivals, like Robin Reid, too, but they didn’t quite capture the electricity of those ferocious Benn-Eubank nights of the early 1990s. 

Calzaghe was Britain’s greatest-ever fighter, and he’s one of the boxing belt holders who put British boxing on the map in the late 2000s and became the dominant super middleweight in the world. Joe went on to cement his legacy by beating Bernard Hopkins at light heavyweight but, following his retirement, there was a vacuum and a lack of clarity about who would be next to fill that void. Domestically, British boxing was losing popularity, with a lack of quality domestic scraps. Still, it was Joe’s stable mate Nathan Cleverly, trained by Joe’s father Enzo, who reignited the domestic scene with his ferocious rivalry with Tony Bellew in the early 2010s.

What Fuelled the Rivalry Between Bellew and Cleverly?

Bellew was a three-time ABA champion, renowned for his punching power and his ‘Bomber’ nickname. The Liverpudlian quickly hoovered up British and Commonwealth titles at light-heavyweight, and his collision course with the then-WBO light-heavyweight champion seemed inevitable. Back in 2011, Cleverly was set to box Jürgen Brähmer, a high-quality German fighter who had a knack for pulling out of big fights. 

This is precisely what happened on the week of the fight, and Bellew answered the call to fight the Welshman at 48 hours’ notice. Following an explosive, expletive-laden press conference where security had to stop the pair from going outside to fight in the car park, it appeared a considerable rivalry had been born, and it got the media hyped up for a colossal event.

Following this bad blood, Cleverly took a severe dislike to Bellew, and although their fight went his way, many believed that Bellew had done enough to win the match on the scorecards. This vague outcome did nothing to cool the rivalry. Despite an initial respite where the boxers embraced after a long 12 rounds, the war of words soon kicked off again as Bellew believed the Welshman made excuses and did not give him the credit he deserved.

The Rematch

Three years after their first confrontation, Bellew and Cleverly settled their differences in Bellew’s home city at the Echo Arena. The fight didn’t take off like the first one. It took place at cruiserweight, which was a more natural weight division for the hometown man. It was a decisive display, and although Cleverly made a decent fight of it, the puzzling split decision should have been unanimous for the Bomber.

Although Bellew has since come out and backed the Welshman following their two fights, no love is lost between the pair. Earlier this year, Bellew said the fighter he disliked the most was Cleverly. Although these grievances can often be soothed throughout the passage of time, especially after 24 hard-fought rounds between the pair, it’s a bout that reignited the domestic British boxing scene. It helped to pave the way for other big domestic showdowns, such as Carl Froch vs George Groves.

Conclusion

It can be difficult to know the difference between genuine animosity and glorified theatrics. Often, in the build-up to big fights, the opponents can be at each other’s throats and turn into good friends post-retirement, like George Groves and Carl Froch have. The needle between the pair was genuine, but they’ve set aside their grievances in retirement, and there’s an immense mutual respect.

Deep down, there’s a similar level of mutual respect between Bellew and Cleverly. It takes a lot to step in the ring and fight for 12 rounds, so we imagine there’s at least some positive feeling now that they’ve both retired. Still, it is a rivalry that has its place in British boxing, given the resurgence it currently enjoys with the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury selling out massive stadiums in the UK.

Boxing is often only as good as the story it sells and, often, mutual respect between fighters doesn’t sell as well as the entertainment in press conferences beforehand. Muhammad Ali perfected this art, but most recently, Conor McGregor has shown how trash talk and explosive and unpredictable pre-fight antics help to sell a show.