AS a fight with Juergen Braehmer finally looks like it could happen, Nathan Cleverly has revealed how the German’s withdrawal from the duo’s showdown in 2011 took the gloss off him becoming world champion for the first time.

Cefn Fforest’s Cleverly took the WBO light-heavyweight belt in May of that year after Braehmer was stripped of the title when he pulled out of the duo’s clash at the O2 Arena just three days before the contest.

Cleverly, 29, went on to beat late call-up Aleksy Kuziemski and defended his crown four more times until he suffered the first defeat of his career against Sergey Kovalev in August 2013.

And while he “loved every minute” of his reign as world champion, the Welshman says he would have extra motivation should promoters Matchroom strike a deal with the current WBA king’s representatives.

“I’d love to finally get Braehmer in the ring and challenge him for his world title,” Cleverly told the South Wales Argus. “It has fallen through three times in the past so let’s hope we can get it on this time.

“Hopefully we can tempt him for later in the year, maybe August, and I’d go over there to fight him.

“I’m prepared to travel and I see no reason why he shouldn’t fight me this time.

“It was frustrating when he was lined up to fight me a few years ago and it fell through.

“That happened a couple of times. One of those occasions he pulled out a few days before the fight.

“I’ll probably only believe I’m going to fight him when we are actually in the same ring together.”

He added: “When I became world champion it would have been nice to rip the belt off him as he was the champion at the time.

“He didn’t give me that opportunity so it would be nice to beat him now to prove a point and take a world title from a world champion.

“There wasn’t really anything I could do at the time and it did take the shine off my moment.

“I’d prepared so well for that fight with him and to have a big one taken away from you is tough.

“I still made the most of it when I was upgraded to world champion and I loved every minute of being the best in the world.

“But I want to beat him now to eradicate what happened before.”

Cleverly is hoping to fit in a fight, possibly in May, before a potential tussle with 37-year-old Braehmer in August.