Nathan Cleverly admits he has never worked on defence and talks retirement

Well said.

One minute he's getting slammed for being arrogant, the next for being defeatist.

 

short-term mood is commonly affected by head trauma, but even without that some self-doubt and introspection is understandable. if he does continue, better training is imperative.

 

There's a good reason why some fighters don't do interviews after a bad defeat. Cleverly would be much better off if he kept his doubts, disappointment and dark thoughts out of the press. He needs to lick his wounds and use his family and team as his support system.

 

he dont need to work on defence...he has a great chin!

 

He has been at the extreme of each spectrum and has no middle ground. He is not an easy person to like.

The mere fact he thought he was winning all 3 rounds till he got caught is incredible.

 

I have no problem with him retiring; as it stands, there's no little chance he defeats Hopkins, Stevenson, Dawson, Pascal or Kovalev, and he clearly knows it.

However, the fact that defence and technique have been completely neglected in the gym isn't surprising to me, but it's still shocking to hear him say it. He's clearly got natural ability, but he's too old to refine that now if it's not been prioritised at all. A potential talent let down by awful training and molly-coddling.

 

Did he really say he'd won the 1st and 2nd round and was winning the 3rd???

 

Yes.

 

He wants drug testing if he believes that.

 

Boxing is a tough, tough game and I don't think Cleverly is massively in love with the sport anymore. Fair play to him he did his best, got further than the vast majority ever do even if he fell short of the hype he recieved.

 

I thought the first round was close but I gave it to Kovalev, I thought he clearly lost the second and was hurt a few times, I actually do think he was winning the first minute and a half of the third but he got the misguided idea that he could go on the attack after that which lead to his demise.

 

Seems so crushed that I dont think he can come back from this,mental strength is such a big thing in a sport like boxing,he's been a world champ and im sure he's made a few quid,if he calls it a day then I wish him all the best..

 

If he does decide to come back i hope he goes to america like khan did.

I dont think Clev has a glass jaw and with a good 12-18 months of hard training out at somewhere like the wildcard and a few confidence building fights i think he can come back and do something.

The other option is moving down to super middleweight however if he doesnt really want it i hope he calls it a day.

 

If he does come back and i see no reason at all why he shouldn't; He has to change his trainer as he offers Zero. Gary Buckland would probably be a good fit if he didn't want to leave Wales.

 

what do you mean Gary Buckland would be a good fit