HELL FRAZER
Clarke: I’ll prove people wrong in long-awaited Wardley bout
FRAZER CLARKE says proving all his doubters wrong will make beating Fabio Wardley “sweet”.
Clarke believes he is the underdog despite his Olympic bronze medal, because he is challenging Wardley for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles on Sunday at the O2. Wardley, 29, came through the ranks of white-collar boxing before successfully turning pro and compiling a perfect 17-0 record.
Clarke (left) has huge respect for the champion and is motivated to make his critics eat their words. The 32-year-old, who is 8-0, knows he will be written off if he loses to Wardley and insists he has pushed himself to the limit in camp ahead of his biggest professional fight. “Physically, emotionally, it’s been hard, it’s been draining, but I feel like I’m coming out the other end,” he said.
“As a professional, this is definitely by far the biggest night of my life and everything will go into this. I’m motivated, I’m up for it and I’m really enjoying this underdog mentality.
“Having people against me, having people expecting me to get flattened, it will be sweet to prove people wrong.”
Clarke has taken a very different path to Wardley and enjoyed a glittering amateur career, which included Commonwealth Games gold, before he won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
He turned professional with BOXXER and Wardley is his biggest test as a professional.
Clarke, from Burton-on-Trent, was ringside when Wardley beat Nathan Gorman to claim the British title in November 2022 and says he always knew this day would come.
“I was at the Nathan Gorman fight,” he said. “I watched that with keen interest and the second Wardley became British champion, I thought one day I’ll end up fighting him.
“I would say rivalry is the right word. I wouldn’t say it’s a grudge because I’ve got no issue with Fabio.
“We’ve had a bit of back and forth, but that’s just the nature of the beast. It’s all part and parcel of the game.”
Clarke has been forced to wait for a shot at Wardley after BOXXER and his management team controversially withdrew him last year on the day of purse bids for the fight.
“It definitely wasn’t pleasant,” he said. “To go through that felt unfair. But I’m a firm believer in dealing with things as they come to you. I had a couple of bad weeks, but after that I was fine.”