Breaking news just coming in, the Juergen Braehmer vs. Nathan Cleverly WBO light heavyweight title fight is now off. Braehmer has pulled out of the fight, citing a cut suffered in training camp which he just reopened on Tuesday. If this sounds familiar to fight fans, that’s because it has become quite the pattern.
Braehmer notably pulled out of his unification bout against Beibut Shumenov in the very beginning of 2011, citing a severe illness. [Included photo is of Braehmer in the hospital after withdrawing from the Shumenov fight].
But prior to that, he also pulled out of his fight last July against Alejandro Lakatus with a back injury. So that’s three straight fights that Braehmer has pulled out of, the last two of which were fights on the big stage, and he pulled out at the last minute. Either it’s been a terrible string of unfortunate luck for Braehmer, or perhaps his fighting spirit isn’t quite all there.
Meanwhile, Epix just announced that they would be picking up the Braehmer-Cleverly fight and broadcasting it live. Now the US premium channel is left without that fight, although it was planning on showing James DeGale vs. George Groves anyway. That’s a nice supporting fight for boxing fans, but not a fight that will bring in any of the mainstream American public. It also leaves Epix with yet another unlucky foray into the boxing world, as the heavily hyped Vitali Klitschko vs. Odlanier Solis title fight ended in less than a round with a freak Solis knee injury.
Bad news for boxing fans, bad news for Epix, and bad news for Braehmer. Cleverly promoter Frank Warren is seeking to petition the WBO to make Cleverly the full champion, and Cleverly is still planning on fighting Saturday night against a late sub.
