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NEUBRANDENBURG, Germany (AP) — Nathan Cleverly of Wales defeated Juergen Braehmer by technical knockout to take the German's WBA light heavyweight belt and his second world title on Saturday.
After six evenly matched rounds, the defending champion indicated he couldn't continue due to a problem with his right elbow.
Cleverly had been the busier fighter, while Braehmer relied on counterattacks, and seemed to pack a cleaner more powerful punch. Both fighters landed heavy blows in a punishing fifth round and Braehmer said he couldn't compete after the sixth.
"I couldn't punch any more with the right. (I quit) before anything else happened. I'm 37, that shouldn't be it," the southpaw said. "We've agreed on a rematch."
Cleverly improved to 30-3 (15 KO) after claiming his second world title at the same weight. He lost the WBO belt to Sergey Kovalev by TKO in August 2013.
"I needed this back. Now I'm a two-time champion of the world and I'm so grateful," Cleverly said.
Braehmer had defended the belt six times since taking the vacant title against Marcus Oliveira in December 2013. His record dropped to 48-3 (35 KO).
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