Nathan Cleverly retires after loss to Badou Jack
Cleverly won two world titles during his 12-year career
Nobody on the Mayweather-McGregor card took a nastier thumping then Nathan Cleverly, who surrendered his light heavyweight title to Badou Jack after approximately five one-sided rounds. Early today, the Welsh veteran announced his retirement via Twitter.
— King Clev (@NathanClev) August 27, 2017
Speaking as an armchair boxer, this looks like the right call. Cleverly (30-4, 16 KO), normally a perpetual motion machine in the ring, was not only outboxed but outworked by Jack, simply covering up and trying to slip protracted combinations while offering little in return. Though he’s just 30, he also absorbed an enormous number of punches from Andrzej Fonfara three fights back and had his hands full with an aging Jürgen Brähmer before the latter suffered an injury.
Good on him for realizing there wasn’t anything left in the tank.
Cleverly ends his career with two world title reigns and solid wins over Karo Murat and Tony Bellew. Best of luck with whatever comes next, Clev.