October 13th 2024.
Frazer Clarke was left with a sickening dent in the side of his head after a knockout defeat by his British heavyweight rival, Fabio Wardley, in Riyadh. The two had previously met in March, with a draw resulting in their first encounter. However, this time, Wardley dominated the rematch in Saudi Arabia, knocking out Clarke in the first round and retaining his British heavyweight and Commonwealth titles.
The knockout occurred when Wardley landed a devastating right-hand punch that left Clarke staggering on the ropes before ultimately being knocked out. After being checked by doctors, Clarke was taken out of the arena for further treatment, but not before fans noticed a sickening dent in his head. Later, it was revealed that the dent was caused by a suspected fractured cheekbone, according to boxing promoter Frank Warren.
Former middleweight world champion Andy Lee commented on the heavy punch, saying, "Frazer Clarke is being rushed out of the ring here because he still probably doesn't know where he is. It was such a heavy punch." Ex-British boxing star Darren Barker added, "The ones that hit you on the chin are the ones that knock you out, but those ones on the temple make your legs go and you can't get them back."
Wardley, 29, was understandably thrilled with his emphatic win and expressed his desire to become a world champion. "I said I've got power in each hand, and if I hurt someone, then I can get rid of them," he said in the ring after the knockout victory. "I went into that first fight with a couple of issues, we got them fixed up, got the gameplan right, and executed on the night. Sometimes, war is needed, and sometimes brains are needed. I said in all interviews that I had success, but we needed to be a little bit sweeter."
Wardley also acknowledged that he has his sights set on becoming a world champion and is willing to do whatever it takes. "These belts look great, but I want some that say 'world' on them. Whoever has them, we have to come back here," he said. "There's something in the air over here, it gives me an extra buzz. Whenever they want me back, I'll be straight back over."
Former world champion Nicola Adams also weighed in on Wardley's future, saying that she wants to see him have another fight before competing for a world title. "I want to see him have another [fight] that's not too far out of his league yet [before a world title fight]," she said.
Clarke, a Metro columnist, had vowed not to repeat his mistake from their first fight, where he suffered a knockdown in the fifth round. "Looking back on the first fight, I suffered that knockdown in the fifth round, but it didn't cause problems for me," he said. "It was a great pressure from Fabio, but a mistake from me. But I got up and carried on, and I won rounds after that."
Despite gaining respect for his opponent, Clarke made it clear that he was looking forward to defeating Wardley on Saturday night. "To be honest, I don't give a s**t about what Fabio does now. There has been a lot of respect since the first fight," he said. "He gained my respect, but the reality is, the closer we get to fight night, the more I am looking forward to smashing him in his face."
Clarke also addressed the possibility of their first fight taking a toll on Wardley, saying, "Did that night take something out of Fabio? I don't know. People ask if it took anything out of me? I don't know who they think I am. I have been ready to go for a long time." He added that fighters are "half super human" and are able to quickly recover from intense fights.
He also downplayed the media's portrayal of their first fight, saying, "A lot of the time, the media over-dramatize things. Yeah, it was a war. Yeah, we bashed each other up. Fabio had a little cut on his nose with a bit of blood pouring. That's how it goes in this game. It's a bit of blood. I've lost count of the amount of times I have had a bloody nose or a cut on my face. It's the most normal thing in the world in this life. It's a sacrifice, but after coming so close last March, it will all be worth it next weekend."
In other fights on the card, Artur Beterbiev defeated Dmitry Bivol on points to become the first undisputed light-heavyweight champion since 2002. British star Raven Chapman was also defeated by Australia's Skye Nicolson in their WBC featherweight world title fight.
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