BOXING promoter Francis Warren believes other fighters will no longer be able to avoid Nathan Cleverly, once he’s defeated big-hitting Russian Sergey Kovalev.

The pair meet on August 17 at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena with Cleverly’s WBO light heavyweight title on the line.

It is without question the toughest test for Cardiff University graduate Cleverly who is undefeated in 26 fights as a professional.

However, at the age of 26, Cleverly is currently struggling to find the career defining battles he craves.

Cleverly’s promoter Frank Warren has tried to clinch a clash with legendary American Bernard Hopkins and Britain’s undisputed super middleweight world champion Carl Froch, but to no avail.

That has led to the Kovalev showdown, many believing it to be an extremely risky fight for the Cefn Fforest man.

However, Frank Warren’s son and fellow promoter Francis Warren believes Cleverly’s next fight makes him unavoidable.

“I think, we think, that fighters have been ducking Nathan,” Warren told the Argus.

“Actually, ducking perhaps isn’t the right word, they are avoiding him because they know how good he is.

“If you like it’s similar to the situation with Joe Calzaghe.

“Nathan is seen as too dangerous, too risky a fight, and he wants to put himself in a position where no one can avoid him.

“If he beats Kovalev and does it in the style we know he’s capable of, people will be talking about Nathan so much he’ll be unavoidable.”

Many have criticised the match making of this contest, believing Kovalev to be too big a risk for Cleverly, the heavy-hitting Russian possessing a scarcely credible knockout ratio.

“I think there is a perception that this is a tough fight for Nathan, but I feel that’s because people don’t really know yet just how good he is,” Warren said.

“I thought he was punch perfect against Robin Krasniqi and I don’t think there is a light heavyweight in the world who can beat him.”

The August 17 bill is the biggest in Wales in many years thanks to an agreement that allows Frank Maloney, Ricky Hatton and Barry McGuigan-promoted boxers to appear on Warren’s subscription TV channel, BoxNation.

“Nathan obviously leads the way with the Welsh fighters, but we’ve got some tremendous prospects coming through,” Warren said.

“And when you add guys like Enzo Maccarinelli and Gary Buckland to the mix, we should be able to put on some great Welsh shows again.”