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Olympian Frazer Clarke is still very much motivated to collide with Fabio Wardley in a British heavyweight title fight.
Clarke will first return to the ring in June, when he stays busy on the undercard of Adam Azim’s upcoming assignment at York Hall.
The unbeaten heavyweight sees no harm in taking a fight before a possible clash with Wardley.
With only six fights on his record since turning pro, Clarke wants to continue building his experience with more rounds in the bank.
“As far as that June 10 date goes when I am scheduled to fight on the Adam Azim card at York Hall, I’m happy to leave it if that’s how things develop. Fabio says he is ready for it next, I am 100 percent ready for it next. I just didn’t see any harm in fighting again beforehand, not just for the sake of fighting but for more rounds,” Clarke explained to Metro.co.uk.
“I have only ever done six rounds, Fabio has only ever done six rounds. He has never gone beyond it, just like me. So I saw a bit of benefit from it from a personal stand point. Also, I am a prize fighter, I fight for a living so I will never turn down the chance to get paid twice rather than once. It is no problem, I’m in the gym every day, never too far away from being fight ready.”
Last Saturday night, Clarke was ringside in Cardiff – to witness Joe Cordina reclaim the IBF super featherweight title with a tough win over Shavkat Rakhimov.
During the show, Clarke engaged in a conversation with Wardley’s promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom.
He says Hearn was trying to persuade him to bypass the stay-busy fight in June.
“I had a little chat with Eddie Hearn in Cardiff on Saturday night. Eddie is one of the top promoters in the world, a good businessman. But he is on the other side of the fence to me as far as this fight is concerned. There have been a lot of things said online, a lot of back and forth between him and [my promoter] Ben Shalom too. But when we spoke on the night, I was letting him know just how much I want the fight. I have been made mandatory for a reason. It was just business,” Clarke said.
“He is someone I have known as a professional, someone I have admired for the things he has done for the sport. This time, it was a bit more intimate because there was business at hand. There wasn’t too much said, he was asking for some clarity on my 10 June date, I told him that after the purse bids, there will be a lot more clarity.
He told me I shouldn’t fight before I fight for the British title but I told him that’s not the rule, that’s his rule and what he’s trying to impose when in reality, he has nothing to do with me. But it was nothing too heavy, a bit of back and forth a bit of banter too. He said the fight between me and Fabio is 50-50 and I was gobsmacked he could find those words. But it was innocent enough.”