Clarke went through hell with Wardley – now he’s going back

Frazer Clarke might take issue with the headline above, because it doesn’t matter which way you frame it; to him, his instant classic with Fabio Wardley was just a fight. We might opt for words like “war”, “hell”, and so on, but in his mind, that would be to romanticise and overly dramatise the moment.
“This is no disrespect,” he tells The Independent, the day after his rematch with Wardley is confirmed for 12 October. “I think journalists and people that have never boxed can cling to what others have said in the past. I know myself, and it was a hard fight, but I went on a nice couple of holidays after, had some rest, I’ve been training again; I’m as good as new. But it might be so alien to some people, to go through that.”
In this specific answer, he is dismissing the suggestion that a fight like his first with Wardley – a split-decision draw at London’s O2 in March – can change a boxer. “I understand that it’d take its toll, if you’d been in fight after fight after fight like that,” says the unbeaten heavyweight. “But in essence, that was my first ‘proper’ fight. I think that was the first time in a professional fight that I’d actually been hit flush!
“And even the blood… it’s a bit of claret.” Now the Olympic bronze medalist is referencing what others (ahem!) might describe as a gruesome gash across Wardley’s nose, which nearly cost him his unbeaten record and British title against Clarke. “When you’ve been in boxing as long as I have, you know it’s a little cut on his nose,” Clarke says nonchalantly.
“Yeah, it looks bad, and it’s not great, but if you’re made of the right stuff – which I am and, to be fair, [Wardley] is – you get on with it. I’d be gutted if a referee ever stopped me for having a bit of blood. I might be naive, but I don’t know any different, and I love it. If people come out of the ring and they haven’t given the effort that me and Fabio did, I ask: ‘Why not?’”
The effort given by Clarke, 33, and Wardley, 29, led to an absorbing duel. After a year of waiting, training, and taunting – largely from Wardley – Clarke went down in the fifth round and was docked a point for a low blow in the seventh. But his fast start and valiant end to the bout secured him a 115-112 scorecard and a 113-113, with Wardley’s 114-113 equalling a draw.
In his locker room, after the violence, Clarke was “devastated”. “The honest truth is, it was as if I’d lost the fight. I was so, so gutted, because I put a lot into it – not just the fight, but the camp, the sacrifices I made. And I was a little bit bitter, if I’m honest.
“I was annoyed at the knockdown, because it wasn’t a heavy shot, it was just a mistake I made. I’ve been in boxing all my life, and one thing you learn not to do is cross your feet, and I paid the ultimate price for it. Everyone was saying, ‘You should be super proud,’ but when you’re the one in it… It felt like an opportunity missed.”
Still, “Big Fraze” reiterates his belief that he was deprived of victory by a harsh low-blow call. “It definitely wasn’t an intentional low blow,” he says. “I don’t even think it was a low blow, if I’m honest. Fabio’s got quite a big team in the front row, they’re not quiet, and they’re almost as close to the ring as you can get. So, the cheerleaders cheered away, and I think it had a bit of an influence.”
That’s the kind of dig that defined the build-up to Clarke and Wardley’s first fight, although the latter was perhaps more of an antagoniser at the time. In any case, the heavyweights undoubtedly earned each other’s respect in the blood-splattered ring in London. “When you’re in the back, you see each other quite a bit,” Clarke says. “I think I went into his changing room after the fight and congratulated him.
“At the end of the day, I’m a good sport. It was never anything personal with him. There was just a lot of pressure on me from outside sources; no one had given me a chance, but no one had seen the best of me yet. I’m using that energy again this time, because I still feel like I’ve not proven myself. And I’ll do exactly that.”
Soon, Wardley and Clarke will clash again – this time in Riyadh, on the undercard of Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev, a long-awaited fight for the undisputed light-heavyweight titles.
In Clarke’s mind, no doubt, this rematch is just a fight. Others might see it differently – more dramatically. After a contest as compelling as the first fight, surely you can allow us a little romance, Frazer.