Nathan Cleverly lost his WBO light heavyweight title to a devastating defeat against Sergey Kovalev on Saturday night. Cleverly was blown away inside four rounds as Kovalev lived up to his big-punching reputation.
Many fans immediately took to Facebook calling for Vince Cleverly to quit as trainer, this is the same trainer who fight fans forget got Nathan in contention for the belt, which they went onto win and defended a total of five times together.
The tactics on the night were wrong, it was there for all to see. Cleverly had a very high guard which I thought was a smart tactic, but his legs weren’t moving meaning he was a punchbag waiting for Kovalev to explode all over it.
Vince has done a great job as a trainer with Nathan. Nathan’s speed, combinations and accuracy doesn’t just come out of thin air. It comes out of hard work, dedication and many hours put in at the gym.
However, I do think that Vince may need help with Nathan’s Strength and Conditioning. Nathan isn’t known for being a puncher with twelve KO’s in twenty-seven fights, which works out as a forty-four percent KO record. If you look a little closer at the twelve KO’s, only two are actual KO’s while ten are TKO’s.
Nathan and his dad work well together as a partnership and I hope they continue there partnership in Nathan’s journey to reach the top.
Fight fans need to remember that when a fighter jumps ship to a new trainer it doesn’t guarantee success.
