Exclusive – Cleverly considering Roach link-up after world title loss

Nathan Cleverly has told talkSPORT he is considering turning to Freddie Roach to resurrect his career.

The Welshman has been urged by Amir Khan to ditch his dad Vince as trainer and link up with Roach after relinquishing his WBO light-heavyweight title to Sergey Kovalev last month.

Cleverly suggested he may never fight again in the immediate aftermath of his defeat to Kovalev, but the 26-year-old says he is now mulling over whether to take Khan’s advice and start afresh in America.

Asked whether he could link up with Los Angeles-based Roach, master-trainer to Manny Pacquiao, Cleverly told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast: “Yeah, it’s definitely a consideration.

“A change can be good for a fighter sometimes. Sometimes training in the same environment with the same trainer, you can become a little bit stale.

“Changes can be good and it is something that I’ll consider. I’ll spend another couple of weeks revaluating the situation and see what the best option is going forward.”

And a ring return could be on the cards before the end of 2013.

He added: “We are probably a couple of weeks away from being in the gym and maybe we will look for a fight before the end of the year. If not, then early next year.”