Juergen Braehmer vs Nathan Cleverly: How to watch, preview, quotes, odds, undercard and prediction

Former world champion heads to Germany in quest to win the WBA light-heavyweight title.

Nathan Cleverly will attempt to become a world champion for the second time in his career on Saturday night (1 October) as he finally takes on Juergen Braehmer for the WBA (regular) light-heavyweight belt at the the Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg, Germany.

How to watch

Boxing fans in the United Kingdom can watch Braehmer vs Cleverly live on Sky Sports 2 HD, with coverage set to begin at 20.00 BST. The broadcast will also feature Joseph Parker, the mandatory challenger for Anthony Joshua's IBF heavyweight title, in action against Alexander Dimitrenko. That bout takes place in New Zealand.

Preview

Arguably one of the forgotten men during this most recent golden era of British boxing, Cleverly has dropped off the mainstream radar since his famous rivalry with Tony Bellew ended with 'Bomber' avenging his defeat from three years earlier with a hard fought split decision cruiserweight victory at Echo Arena in November 2014.

The Caerphilly native subsequently returned to light-heavyweight with the aim of finally taking on Braehmer and dismantled Tomas Man inside 25 seconds on the undercard of Kell Brook's successful second IBF welterweight defence against Frankie Gavin last May. His hopes of earning another world title shot then looked to be majorly damaged by a gruelling defeat to Andrzej Fonfara in Chicago during which the 29-year-old sustained a painful broken nose and later had to have blood drained from his ear.

Nathan Cleverly vs Andrzej Fonfara — Nathan Cleverly absorbed a great deal of punishment during his defeat to Andrzej Fonfara Jon Durr/Getty Images

That 12-round war went down as a genuine Fight of the Year contender, however, with such a battling if ultimately unsuccessful performance finally sealing a date with 37-year-old Braehmer. The two men were initially due to meet back in May 2011, only for the German to no-show as a result of a cut eye in training that failed to heal in time. The World Boxing Organisation (WBO) were evidently unsatisfied with that explanation and stripped him of his belt before installing mandatory challenger and interim title-holder Cleverly as the full-time champion.

He went on to hold that strap for more than two years, making five successful defences - including that original points defeat of Bellew - before suffering his first career knockdown en route to a punishing four-round loss at the hands of unbeaten Russian powerhouse Sergey Kovalev in August 2013 that left his ambitions of sealing lucrative unification fights stateside in tatters. It is worth noting that Kovalev has gone from strength to strength since then, becoming the unified light-heavyweight champion with victory over Bernard Hopkins. He faces Andre Ward in November.

A win for Matchroom's Cleverly this weekend against a tough and experienced but ageing southpaw champion would certainly go a long way to catapulting him back into national and indeed global relevance.

Nathan Cleverly vs Tomas Man — Nathan Cleverly made extremely light work of Tomas Man in May 2015 Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

What the boxers have said

Juergen Braehmer: "This is a special fight for me. It's a fight I've wanted for a long time, and a fight the fans are excited to see. I will enter the ring, as I always do, with just one goal in my mind – to win, no matter what, and with the support of crowd in Neubrandenburg, I know I will.''

Nathan Cleverly: "It's great that this fight is finally happening. It's been five years in the making, and finally Braehmer is stepping up to the plate. It's a going to be a difficult fight for me, but it has come at the wrong time for him. He's 37 years old and reaching the end of his career, and I'm 29 and just hitting my peak. Juergen is a great fighter, but he's not ready for what I'm bringing. I want this too much and I will be bringing the belt home with me.''

Records

Braehmer: 50 fights, 48 wins (35 knockouts)