Tensions boil over as Cleverly and Bellew meet

THE cops came calling yesterday when tensions boiled over as Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew went head-to-head at a Press conference. There is little love lost between the British duo ahead of their WBO light-heavyweight title clash at Liverpool's Echo Arena on October 15. But it was not the boxers who lost their cool as trouble threatened to break out in Cardiff. Instead it was Cleverly's father and trainer Vince who had to be restrained after getting into a row with a member of Bellew's entourage. At one point the fiery Welshman was seen punching himself in the face while his son was conducting TV interviews. Calm was restored when police officers arrived to talk both parties but WBO champ Cleverly, 24, played down the incident. He said: "I was a bit taken aback by what was happening and tried to keep focused on my interview. "I didn't see what happened to make my dad go off like that but he's a passionate person and he probably got a bit over excited. "You'd expect this sort of stuff to happen at an American Press conference with Floyd Mayweather's dad or something, but not in Cardiff. "Bellew could cause trouble in an empty room but he's got a whole lot of trouble with me on October 15." Bellew, the British and Commonwealth champ, added: "My team were behaving themselves, it seems to me that Cleverly's dad was trying to rattle us ahead of the fight. "I was doing interviews when a load of coppers burst into the room. I thought it was a wind up at first as part of the publicity, then I realised it was serious. "It was all sorted out calmly, I finished my interviews and we all drove back to Liverpool."