FightFranchise | Cleverly And Mitchell Win In Style

On tonight's big Frank Warren card from Wembley Arena, London, undefeated Nathan Cleverly 19-0-0 (9) won his third title as a pro as he picked up the European light-heavyweight title, stopping Italian Antonio Brancalion 32-8-2 (8) in five rounds. It was an impressive display from Cleverly, who will surely now be looking for World title honours.

Right from the offset Cleverly looked fired up, and there was no feeling out process as both fighters got stuck right in. Brancalion was no bum and gave pretty much as good as he got in the opening session. The theme continued for the next couple of rounds, with Cleverly just getting the better of things, but never totally dominating the action. The fight was fought briskly and both boxers took some heavy shots.

As the fight wore on, Brancalion seemed to start feeling the pace, and slowly but surely Cleverly began to gain the ascendancy. More and more big, right hands were crashing into Brancalion's head and the Italian began to appear vulnerable. Although Cleverly had also shipped some heavy shots he was apparently unaffected, and finally, at the very end of the fourth round, Cleverly finally caught up with Brancalion and landed a flurry of right hands that put Brancalion on the deck. Luckily for him it was right at the end of the round and was duly saved by the bell, but as the fifth round began it was more of the same.

Bravely Brancalion tried to fight back but Cleverlt began the fifth full of fire, and landed sickening right hand after right hand. Amazingly Brancalion managed to take quite a few but eventually Cleverly backed him to the ropes and chopped him down to the floor. The referee, sensing his opportunity, stepped in and waved the fight off without a count.

It is another impressive step for Cleverly, but in truth before he tries to fight for a world title a step up in opposition may be in order. If he goes into a legitimate World title fight off the back of his recent wins he could be in for a rude awakening.

Undefeated Kevin Mitchell 31-0-0 (23) impressed tonight in the main undercard bout with a two round demolition of Colombia's Ignacio Mendoza 27-6-2 (18). Mitchell, supposedly closing in on a World title shot, was in no mood for a long night and Mendoza was duly dispatched with ease.

It was a cagey opening to the fight with neither man committing to any real offence. Once upon a time Mitchell may well have gone steaming in thoughtlessly so it was good to see him adopting some patience and maturity. Neither fighter really landed any punches, preferring instead to find their range with their jabs. The second round couldn't have been more different however.

From the second the bell rang, Mitchell looked to have stepped it up a level, and was trying to force the pace. With what was almost the very first punch landed, a short hooking right hand, Mendoza suprisingly jumped up in the air before falling to the canvas. It was a peculiar reaction from Mendoza, and in the television replay it showed that no punch really caused the reaction, although Mitchell did land a nasty looking follow up shot to Mendoza's throat. There was no way Mendoza was beating the referees count however and the fight was waved off at the midway point of round two.

Mitchell has been linked with a fight against Michael Katsidis for the WBO title, and according to promoter Frank Warren is very close to being signed. It will be a good test for Mitchell, who declared himself eager for the match.

2008 Olympic gold medalist James 'Chunky' DeGale 6-0-0 (4) continued his march through the pro ranks with a routine two round stoppage of Matthew Barr 14-6-0 (6). Eccentric and flamboyant are just two words you could use to describe DeGale, but nobody can deny he can fight. Although maybe guilty of punches with the inside of his gloves a bit too often, he can still deliver heavy punches and it wasn't long before DeGale had caught and hurt Barr. It was a one-sided first round with Barr shipping punch after punch from the fired up DeGale.

Barr was game, and did manage to land a decent one-two combination that seemed to momentarily stun DeGale, but in doing so he was leaving himself open for DeGale's dangerous assaults. It all proved too much for Barr pretty quickly, and was knocked to the canvas three times in quick succession prompting the referee to call the bout off midway through the second round.

Also on the card, former World amateur champion Frankie Gavin 6-0-0 (5) scored the biggest win of his career to date with a six round decision over Peter McDonagh 14-16-0 (2). It was the first time in Gavin's pro career that he had been taken the distance so far. There was obviously no love lost between the two, and the pair exchanged insults before the first bell had even rang, and continued throughout the fight.

Gavin must be given some credit for handling someone of McDonagh's experience so easily in just his sixth pro fight. Using smart footwork and fast hands, Gavin flummoxed McDonagh from start to finish, although did take a few more punches than he has been used to so far. It was inevitable that McDonagh would have some success, but at no point was Gavin bothered and maintained a level head to cruise home 60-54 on the referee's scorecard. Gavin said afterwards that he would like to fight for the British title by the end of the year, and mentioned current champ Lenny Daws as a potential opponent.

Derek Chisora 12-0-0 (7) had an easy night at heavyweight stopping Carl Baker 9-5-0 (6) inside two rounds. The truth was though that Chisora never took a punch. The opening round was tepid, with neither boxer exactly in top form. Baker is far too heavy to use any real boxing skill, instead just lumbering around the ring and eventually, as was inevitable, he walked straight into a huge Chisora right hand that immediately took away his equilibrium and from that point all he could manage was to desparately cling on to Chisora and spoil the action for all he was worth. He managed quite well, and although not really shipping any more punishment, was not throwing anything back and the referee decided quite rightly to call the bout to an end, even though Baker was in no serious trouble.

Chisora will now be looking to get the British title fight he had originally been scheduled to fight for tonight, and whether it's against Danny Williams or Sam Sexton, a man he has already beaten, he will be in with a good chance of pulling off the win.

Also winning was Jamie Cox 14-0-0 (8), who looked flat in outpointing Michael Frontin 2-7-1 over eight at welterweight.