Nathan Cleverly is confident victory over Andrzej Fonfara can speed up his return to the top of the light-heavyweight division.

The 28-year-old Welshman (29-2-KO15) takes on the dangerous Fonfara in Chicago on October 16 having taken just 25 seconds to stop Tomas Man in May last time out.

Cleverly stepped up to cruiserweight in the wake of handing his WBO world light-heavyweight title over to Sergey Kovalev two years ago - but is back down in weight and confident he can re-establish himself as the world's best.

He said: "This is a major platform for me to prove that I am more than capable of becoming world champion again.

"If I beat Fonfara it's a doorway fight to the world title and establishing myself as one of the best light heavyweights once again.

"Fonfara is a good fighter. He's tall, has power and has moved up through the levels in his career. I am looking forward to coming over to Chicago and I am very confident that our styles will blend well for a really exciting fight."

Fonfara (27-3-KO16) was last in action in April when he recorded a shock stoppage of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr - and is relishing fighting in his adopted hometown of Chicago.

"I'm excited to return to my hometown of Chicago on this big fight night against a world class fighter like Nathan Cleverly," said Fonfara.

"This will be a tough fight for both of us. Cleverly is a solid fighter and it's no fluke that he was a world champion and that he defended his belt so many times.

"Our fighting styles guarantee that everyone can expect fireworks on October 16th. I want this fight to be a quick stop on my way to a rematch with Adonis Stevenson."