Welsh light-heavyweight Nathan Cleverly has fallen to a points defeat to Andrzej Fonfara in Chicago.
The former WBO champion produced one of his best displays in recent years and had to contend with a broken nose for the second half of the bout, but it was Fonfara who was awarded verdicts of 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112 respectively.
From the first bell to the last, the clash followed a pattern of both men fighting up close and looking to land shots to the body and hooks to the head, and it was Cleverly who appeared to do enough to take the opening two rounds.
Fonfara came back into the fight during the next four rounds as both men relished the physical nature of the contest, and the scorecards would have been close heading into the second part of the fight.
However, in round seven, Cleverly suffered a broken nose, making the area a frequent target of Fonfara, and the Pole moved clear with a number of sustained onslaughts against his opponent, who was doing well to remain competitive.
The final nine minutes were back and forth but it was Fonfara who was producing the more telling, effective work, and while Cleverly will receive a lot of credit for his performance, Fonfara was a deserved winner.
