Nathan Cleverly retires after losing to Badou Jack in Las Vegas
Sunday 27 August 2017 10:55, UK
Nathan Cleverly has announced his retirement in the wake of a one-sided defeat to Badou Jack in Las Vegas.
Jack took Cleverly's WBA light-heavyweight title with a fifth-round stoppage on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor Sky Sports Box Office bill.
The Welshman's immediate instinct was to take time to "re-evaluate" after a fourth defeat - all of them within his past eight fights.
But a few hours on from his latest setback Cleverly posted an Instagram message confirming the end of a career which brought 30 victories and two world titles.
"Well done to the new champ Badou Jack," Cleverly said. "Thank you for the opportunity to fight on this event.
"Also, a massive shout out to those who have supported me over the years. I've lived it and loved every second of this sport.
"A few too many miles on the clock. Time to say goodbye. Thank you and goodbye boxing."
Cleverly won the WBO belt outright in 2011 and made four defences before Sergey Kovalev took his unbeaten record in 2013.
The maths graduate then had to rebuild after losing to old rival Tony Bellew, whose points win in 2014 avenged a defeat three years earlier, and he did so by stopping Jurgen Braehmer to win the WBA strap last year.
The Jack fight was Cleverly's first defence of that belt, and will now be his last as a professional.
