By Alexey Sukachev

O2 Arena, London, England - WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (22-0, 11KOs) stopped Aleksy Kuziemski (21-3, 5KOs) in the fourth round. The fight was prematurely stopped at 1:27 of the fourth by American referee Danny Nelson. The referee felt a bleeding cut over Kuziemski's left eye was too serious to allow him to continue.

WBO #11 Kuziemski stepped in as a late sub for (firstly) his former conqueror Juergen Braehmer and (secondly) for fellow Welsh Tony Bellew. Though being stopped twice against elite opposition (Braehmer and WBO #1 Russian Dmitry Sukhotskiy) the Pole refused to work exclusively as cannon fodder for the determined and angered Cleverly.

The fight was all-action from the start, with both boxers trading fast punches. In the third round, Kuziemski appeared to stun Cleverly with a series of clean shots. The Welsh boxer quickly recovered and controlled the fight with his accurate punching and slick movement.

During the fourth round, there was a clash of heads that may have initially opened up a cut on the side of Kuziemski's left eye. Cleverly was targeting the cut and it began to open up further, leaving the Polish boxer a bloody mess. The referee stopped the fight due to the cut, but the crowd, and both fighters, were not happy with the stoppage. Kuziemski did not appear to be bothered by the cut and he was still fighting back.

Cleverly, the interim-champion, became the full title holder earlier this week when the WBO stripped Juergen Braehmer for withdrawing from his mandatory defense with Cleverly.