Tony Bellew has his revenge then pays respects to Nathan Cleverly

Bellow humble in victory over arch-rival

Tony Bellew (left) and Nathan Cleverly clash at the Echo Arena in Liverpool (Getty Images)

Tony Bellew paid tribute to bitter rival Nathan Cleverly after gaining revenge with a majority points win in their cruiserweight fight at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Saturday night.

Three years after losing to an equally tight decision in a challenge for Cleverly’s WBO light-heavyweight title, the home favourite outworked the Welshman over the final rounds to gain the verdict.

Bellew, who moved into world cruiserweight title contention in the process, revealed there was still no love lost between the pair.

He said: “I don’t like him but I respect him and I’ve over-worked a great athlete over 12 rounds. He’s not a cruiserweight but I proved I’m a cruiserweight tonight and I’ll go on and fight anywhere. I want to get that world title belt.”

Anthony Joshua is set for a big step up in class after taking just one minute and 26 seconds to dispatch veteran Michael Sprott. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said the heavyweight’s next outing would be against experienced American Kevin Johnson in London in January.

James DeGale earned the approval of the world super-middleweight champion Carl Froch with a thumping third-round stoppage of Marco Antonio Periban. DeGale’s win moved him into the position of mandatory contender for a shot at the IBF version of the title Froch holds.

“Let DeGale and [George] Groves fight each other and maybe I’ll fight the winner, but it’s a mismatch. DeGale beats Groves every day of the week,” Froch said.

Manny Pacquiao outclassed challenger Chris Algieri to retain his WBO welterweight title in Macau. Pacquiao knocked down the American, who was unbeaten in 20 professional fights, six times as the Filipino southpaw showed too much class for the younger man.