By Pawel Pronishev

WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (23-0, 11KOs) is hoping Carl Froch (28-0, 20KOs) moves up to 175-pounds by end of 2012 for a big domestic showdown. Cleverly defends his title on February 25th in Cardiff. No opponent has been set. Coming off his decision loss to Andre Ward, Froch's promoter is currently negotiating a possible two deal with IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute. Froch has expressed an interest in exploring a possible move to 175 in the near future.

“There are lots of fights out there for him. I think his plan is to take on Lucian Bute or Mikkel Kessler next. After that, yes, I’d love to fight. British matchups always do well at the box office. Froch always wanted to fight a Welshman, Joe Calzaghe. Now he can fight me instead, possibly sometime around the end of next year. The difference in weight is only 7-pounds, and it would be a blockbuster," Cleverly told Daily Express.