Phil D. Jay
WBN Editor
WBN Editor
Welshman defends title to score twelfth stoppage
Nathan Cleverly took apart late replacement Shawn Hawk in
eight rounds with some crunching body shots to make a successful fourth defence
of his WBO light-heavyweight title in Los Angeles.
The 25 year-old, who was originally scheduled to fight southpaw
Ryan Coyne, easily dealt with Hawk’s defensive orthodox style and was clearly
in a different league as he won every round for the duration.
The Cardiff-based stylist showed slick skills and a volume
of punches that compatriot Joe Calzaghe would have been proud of, before
wearing Hawk down from the fifth, to eventually put him down in the seventh with
some wicked shots downstairs.
Hawk, 28, only just made the count from the first knockdown,
but would go down a further three times before referee Tony Crebs and the
Native American’s corner stepped in to end the challenger's pain.
Cleverly could now move on to a fifth defence against American
legend Bernard Hopkins - with WBA champion Beibut Shumenov also a
possibility for the Welshman’s first fight of the New Year.