Nathan Cleverly suffered a points defeat to Poland's Andrzej Fonfara in Chicago as his bid to earn a world title fight took a major blow.

The 28-year-old Welshman looked to suffer a broken nose midway through the contest, and the impressive Fonfara took the unanimous verdict of the judges.

The Chicago-based fighter was given the verdict by 115-113 from one judge and by 116-112 from two.

The fight, for the WBC International light heavyweight title, was seen by both men as a stepping stone to bigger things, and it remains to be seen where defeat leaves former WBO world champion Cleverly.

Cleverly was smarting after being hit after the bell in the second round but he was on top at that stage.

Yet by the seventh round Cleverly had blood splashed across his face, his nose taking the biggest toll as Fonfara found his range.

Cleverly survived the round, and needed to take the initiative at that stage, but the damage done to his face changed the complexion of the fight, with Fonfara exercising control until the final bell.

Cleverly had gamely battled on and Fonfara afterwards described him as "a warrior" as the Polish fighter, backed by a large following, celebrated his win.

For Cleverly it was a third career loss, all of which have come in his last six fights.

"Cleverly has a great chin. He's a great fighter. He was taking a lot of punches and not breaking down. He still wanted to go forward and fight. He believed he could win until the very end," Fonfara said.
 
"I thought I would knock him out before the fight, but during the fight I realized he has great defense. I had no idea he could take so many punches and still be in the fight. I realized it would be very hard to knock him out. I respect him very much.
 
"It was not the toughest fight of my career, but I'm happy because it was a hard 12 rounds. I got the feeling I broke his nose around the seventh or eighth round. After taking so many hard punches I felt he was wearing down.
 
"I was positive I won before they read the decision. The last couple rounds there was no question who was the better fighter. He was still throwing punches, but I was blocking them and hitting him very hard."