CHICAGO - Hometown-favorite Andrzej Fonfara (28-3 16 KOs) outslugged former world champion Nathan Cleverly (29-3, 15 KOs) over 12 grueling rounds on his way to a unanimous decision on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

 

Fonfara and Cleverly exchanged punches throughout the night with neither man yielding an inch of ground. Cleverly won rounds by throwing punches from awkward angles and by countering effectively. Fonfara never seemed phased by Cleverly's power however, and was able to impose his will as the fight wore on.

 

Cleverly began bleeding from his nose in the middle of the fight as Fonfara launched uppercuts and straight right hands at the injured appendage. The injury slowed the pace of Cleverly's attack and allowed Fonfara to pull ahead on the scorecards. The fight set a record for most punches landed (936) and thrown (2524) in the light heavyweight division in CompuBox history.

 

The final judges' scores were 115-113 and 116-112 twice.

 

The evening's co-main event featured thrilling back-and-forth action as super flyweight world champion Kohei Kono (31-8-1, 13 KOs) retained his title via unanimous decision over former world champion Koki Kameda (33-2, 18 KOs). The bout was the first world title fight between two Japanese fighters that was fought on U.S. soil.

 

"It was a fantastic fight - I had a feeling that our styles were going to gel and that's what happened. It was a war from the very first bell and I am not surprised that it broke the records for the most punches thrown because when we started we just didn't stop," Cleverly said.

 

"He can really bang - he's not far off Sergey Kovalev for power. But I thought I had him until the nose went and I think that without that, I could've got the win. But in the end, I think the 115-113 was about right, and credit to him, he took some punches in there too and kept on coming.

 

"It has been a great experience over here in the U.S. - it's a pretty hostile crowd but they all congratulated me after the fight. Would I do it again? Why not - it's what we are here to do, put on entertaining fights for great fans, and I am sure there will be the demand for it.