Digital TV News

Cleverly vs Bellew: Live boxing comes to Freeview HD

Thursday 14 October, 2011

By Kelvin Goodson

WBO world light-heavyweight title-fight is the first live event to be streamed direct to television viewers for free

Nathan Cleverly’s defence of his WBO world light-heavyweight crown will be shown live on Freeview HD this weekend.

Welshman Cleverly will face the Commonwealth light-heavyweight champion, scouser Tony Bellew, on his home turf - the Liverpool Echo Arena - on Saturday.

To add spice to the encounter, both fighters have unbeaten records. They also have previous, with the Liverpudlian having failed to make the weight when he was originally scheduled to face Cleverly back in May.

The winner could face a unification fight with WBC light-heavyweight champion Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, who became oldest boxer ever to win a world title earlier this year, aged 46 years, four months and six days.

“I’m in discussions with Hopkins’s promoter Richard Schaefer about a potential fight with the winner,” said promoter Frank Warren, “so it’s a massive incentive for both guys.”

Hopkins defends his WBC crown against former WBC, IBF and IBO light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson in Los Angeles on the same night, which will also be screened live on Freeview.

Olympic gold-winning boxer and former British super-middleweight champion James DeGale will fight Pole Pitor Wilczewski for the European super-middleweight title on the same bill as Cleverly vs Bellew.

The bouts will mark the first time a live sporting event has been streamed, via new internet channel Sports Tonight Live, direct to television viewers for free.

Phil Walder of Connect TV, which with technology partners Vision21 is responsible for streaming the event to television, said: “This is the start of a revolution in live TV that will give promoters and sports rights owners a direct route to their audience.”

Viewers with the latest Freeview HD TV sets and set-top boxes will be able to catch all the action live on Freeview channel 112 from 7pm Saturday 15 October.