Tuesday 27 September 2016 14:55, UK
It is five years since Nathan Cleverly was first scheduled to challenge Juergen Braehmer and back then a fresh-faced Gareth Bale helped with his fellow Welshman's preparation.
'Clev' will be challenging for the German's WBA light heavyweight world title on Saturday night at the Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg, Germany, live on Sky Sports.
The 29-year-old Welshman is looking to join Braehmer as a two-time world champion having, like Braehmer, previously held the WBO strap.
Cleverly won that vacant title after seeing a fight with the champion Braehmer fall through at the last minute back in 2011.
Since that withdrawal, Cleverly has lost on three occasions, including a loss to Russian powerhouse Sergey Kovalev as well as a split decision loss to bitter rival Tony Bellew.
In his last outing, he fell short in an epic battle with Andrzej Fonfara and he will now want to move on from those disappointing lows.
Five years can be a long time in boxing and it can be just as long a time in football, especially when Gareth Bale is concerned.
Bale, 21, was having a season to remember back in 2011 when he famously scored a hat-trick for Tottenham against Italian giants Inter Milan in the Champions League, a season which culminated in him winning the league's PFA Player of the Year award.
Despite an outstanding season, few would have predicted Bale's astounding rise which has seen him become the world's most expensive player with a £85m move to Real Madrid where he has won the Champions League on two occasions.
Five years on and Bale remains a fan of Cleverly and will be glad that a fight with Braehmer is finally set to take place.
Watch Braehmer v Cleverly live from 8pm on Sky Sports 2 this Saturday.
