LONDON—Nathan Cleverly’s first defense of his World Boxing Organisation (WBO) light-heavyweight title ended with a fourth round stoppage win on cuts against Poland’s Aleksy Kuziemski here on Saturday.
The Welshman had been due to face previous title-holder Juergen Braehmer at the O2 Arena.
But the German pulled out and was stripped of his title, with Cleverly promoted to champion.
The 24-year-old Cleverly was then due to face Tony Bellow, only for his fellow British boxer to be ruled out after problems making the weight.
Eventually, the Welshman was paired against the 34-year-old Kuziemski.
Cleverly, warned for holding and hitting early on, buckled under a left hook from Kuziemski in the third round.
But, despite being hit again, Cleverly finished the round strongly.
However, the fight ended in unsatisfactory fashion in the fourth.
A cut opened above Kuziemski’s left eye and referee Mark Nelson waved the bout off without even asking for the opinion of the ringside doctor.