Cleverly received special permission.

British Nathan Cleverly, current World Boxing Association (WBA) Light Heavyweight Champion, received special permission from the Championships Committee to stake his title against the Swedish living in the United States, Badou Jack, on Saturday, August 26th in Las Vegas.

This permission is granted at the request of the British boxer’s team, which was notified on July 27th, 2017, that they had to negotiate a fight against the Russian Dmitry Bivol, current Interim Champion at 175 pounds. This is endorsed in Article C16 of the WBA Rules.

However, Article C46 indicates that the organization may modify the decisions or application of the rules in special circumstances, as long as they benefit the boxers and the sport. For this reason, the Championships Committee, based on the WBA rules, and at the request of the interested party, decided to grant the special permission for the Cleverly Vs. Jack fight. Nevertheless, the winner of this battle must immediately begin negotiations to face Bivol. If no agreement is reached with the Russian boxer before September 11th, 2017, the fight will be called to purse bids.

The parties involved were duly notified of the decision taken by the WBA Championships Committee.