WHEN the dust settles and Nathan Cleverly takes stock of his defeat to Tony Bellew, the business side of his brain should click into gear.

The Cefn Fforest fighter spoke willing before his disappointing – in more ways than one – defeat at the Liverpool Echo Arena on Saturday night about the loser having “nowhere to go,” but at 27-years old, there is no fathomable reason for Nathan to hang them up.

It’s time for the Clever Boy to live up to his reputation and chase not necessarily grudge matches and world titles, but the almighty dollar.

Despite Bellew’s ridiculous taunts, Cleverly has never proclaimed himself as the heir apparent to Joe Calzaghe despite their great friendship and there is no reason for Cleverly to still be lacing them up at 36-years old like Joe. Nathan would no doubt shudder at the thought of still being a professional boxer in 2023.

With a degree in Mathematics to fall back on Cleverly can easily walk away from boxing and totally reinvent himself if he chooses and having followed his career ringside since just his third professional outing, it has always been a comfort to know that about a person I have always found honest and personable.

Cleverly’s critics call him a paper world champion and point out he never beat a world champion to claim the WBO light heavyweight belt, and they are absolutely correct. But that’s like attacking a petrol station because you think fuel prices are too high.

Boxing is absurd and to this writer wonderful, but there is no confusion over the fact it is farcical, with every weight division having usually four different boxers all proclaiming themselves world champion.

Cleverly’s legacy is that of a guy who swept all before him in claiming every title going until he reached world level and he defended his WBO light heavyweight title gamely until being decimated by the blistering left hand of Sergey Kovalev, a brutish hitter who has proven himself the real deal by decisively beating Bernard Hopkins.

Unfortunately, Cleverly’s ultimate undoing has been a physique that while perfect for looking good on the scales, has betrayed Cleverly in terms of finding his natural fit in the fight game. Let us not forget, he started out at welterweight.

By the time Cleverly’s date of destiny with Kovalev came he was punishing himself to make light heavy and felt weak against the fighter who he really needed to be at 100% against.

He was clearly at a low ebb before switching to cruiserweight and ultimately – and I think Cleverly would acknowledge this himself –he shot the gun on facing a natural big guy like Bellew.

Hindsight is always advantageous in being a presumptuous know it all, but Cleverly lost on Saturday because he had blown a gasket by round nine, unable to maintain offence against a big nearly 15 stone man leaning all over him.

And herein is the issue for Cleverly. He’s too big to be as effective as he wants at light heavyweight and he’s not large enough to contend with some of the biggest cruiserweights.

The answer, surely, it to commit only to chasing the biggest purses possible, until calling it quits and walking away.

Cleverly, critics notwithstanding, IS a former world champion and despite Bellew’s claims otherwise, is still someone who can shift a few tickets and generate interest.

As for Saturday’s show, it felt like we had too much of a good thing for the PPV audience without the evening ever really justifying it being a paid presentation.

I enjoyed James DeGale and Anthony Joshua in particular, but having arrived at the Echo Arena at 6pm, the evening felt unbelievably long and there was plenty of complaining on Twitter at the main event going on so late.

And despite the fact Bellew will re-write the script in the coming weeks about him cleverly beating Cleverly at his own game by citing endurance and smarts, the contest by no means lived up to the hype.

Cleverly hurt his right hand in the third round and barely threw it after that, but the truth is that he barely threw it in rounds one and two either. Having been brutalized by Kovalev’s overhand left, perhaps there is an element of him being wary and consequently gun shy, but that’s a question only Nathan can answer.

He will no doubt take a break now – and might need to wait for Marco Huck to beat Bellew before we complete the trilogy – but Cleverly should be open to all offers in respect of his future and should remember that he only lost on Saturday by split decision and never looked like he’d be taken out. His chin passed a good test, which is a positive.

He should perhaps widen the net of expertise around him, which is no slight whatsoever on Darren Wilson, his trainer. But Nathan used to have Dean Powell – so badly missed – as his ringside counsel and he also used to go far and wide in search of sparring and advice, with Adam Booth a good example.

It remains regrettable that Cleverly can’t work anything out with Gary Lockett, a similar up and coming trainer to Dave Coldwell – a boxing man through and through; who clearly had an effective game plan for Bellew at the weekend. He visited Cleverly’s dressing room after the fight and was an extremely positive and welcome presence.

Cleverly like all fighters dreamed of being a world champion and at the pinnacle of the sport and unlike 95% of fighters, he got to live that dream.

Whether he will again, at light heavy or cruiserweight remains to be seen and looks unlikely at this point, but Cleverly still has the chance to make a big impact in the coming years.

I’d look at someone like Pauli Malignaggi as a prime example of making the most of personality and reputation to earn himself big opportunities and pay days and Cleverly would be wise to consider earning potential above all else when he considers where to go next.