CLARKE OUT TO MAKE HISTORY AND JOIN THE BEST OF BRITISH
FRAZER CLARKE has already experienced first-hand the blood and thunder of a British heavyweight title fight.
His big night against Fabio Wardley looms large on Easter Sunday, the culmination of a rivalry that promises to be the latest in a long line of memorable domestic dust-ups in boxing’s blue-riband division.
It conjures memories of the 2015 war between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, who brawled for the same British and Commonwealth belts that are on the line this weekend. That night, Clarke was working as a ringside security guard, jumping into the ring as Joshua and Whyte kept swinging after the bell at the end of the first round to help separate the two giants.
Clarke now finds himself on that same stage, having returned from the Tokyo Olympics with a bronze medal three years ago with eight fights and eight wins under his belt as a professional.
Many before him have used the British title as a springboard to greater things. Lennox Lewis, Joshua and Tyson Fury all collected that belt before becoming world champions, with each winning it in their 15th professional bout. Should he walk away as the winner this weekend, Clarke will make history, claiming it in the fewest number of fights.
Wardley, the more experienced fighter who also won the British belt in fight No.15, is adamant this test is coming too soon for Clarke. The champion, 29, has knocked out 16 of his 17 opponents, having made the transition from white-collar boxing to the professional game.
At 32, Clarke possesses the more traditional boxing background, a decorated amateur who has long, hard miles on the road already behind him.
‘I have his number in every department,’ Clarke told Metro. ‘Both in being able to thrive on these stages and in the ring. If the best version of both of us turns up, I believe I am the better fighter.
‘We have very different boxing backgrounds but this is two people trying to punch the other in the face. No matter how you butter it up, it’s the same – I hit him more than he hits me.’
Clarke insists becoming British champion more quickly than Joshua, Fury and Lewis managed is an inconsequential footnote. ‘It’s not relevant,’ he said. ‘I haven’t thought about it like that. It is a statistic for journalists, everyone else.
‘This is bigger than anything I have ever experienced but I always knew this was coming. Now it’s here, I am glad I have got the experience I have as a boxer, as a security guard, as a fan. All of them have helped get me where I am today.’
■ PHILADELPHIA have been flagged up as our 15/1 selection for the World Series, but have an each-way bet at 14/1 on the Baltimore Orioles (Betfred and Sky Bet).