British heavyweight rivals Fabio Wardley (17-0-1, 16 KOs) and Frazer Clarke (8-0-1, 6 KOs) thrilled their devoted fans Sunday, going 12 hard rounds in a long-awaited showdown at the O2 Arena in London. At stake: the British and Commonwealth Titles held by Wardley.
Neither man succeeded, but no one lost when the competitive, entertaining fight ended in a draw.
“Crazy, crazy night,” said Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom. “It was just unbelievable … Frazier should be incredibly proud, he dominated the fight. Wardley was out on his feet but just kept coming, he’s always dangerous. For British boxing, what an advert!”
Shalom said he couldn’t argue with the draw.
“I’m a little bit gutted,” said Clarke after the fight. “I wanted those titles for my kids.”
Talk of a rematch began almost immediately after the scores were read. But first, an appreciation for the performances on Saturday.
Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Clarke showed his amateur pedigree, using his jab in the early rounds to take charge of the pace and followed by enough hard right hands to win the early rounds.
Wardley, the bigger puncher and the more experienced man in the ring, sent big overhand shots past Clarke, who dodged them nicely. Clarke kept picking away at Wardley, who was cut on the bridge of his nose.
A little blood can motivate a fighter to bear down, and it seemed so with Wardley, who had to start taking more chances on coming in. He was successful, catching Clarke more frequently as the fight continued. Near the end of the fifth round, Wardley scored the fight’s only knockdown.
When a hard right rattled Clark, Wardley swarmed him with shots. Clarke retreated, and as he backpedaled away, Wardley landed more punches. Clarke stumbled while being hit and fell to the canvas. He beat the count, and Wardley didn’t have time to follow up.
In the middle rounds, Wardley pursued Clarke, his confidence growing. He landed several hard uppercuts, but Clarke’s chin kept him in the fight.
Neither man had fought into round seven, and the stamina of both big men became a question. Clarke landed a low blow, which gave both men a break. Referee Steve Gray stopped the action to give Wardley some recovery time and deducted a point from Clarke after having warned him earlier in the fight.
Clarke swung the fight momentum back in his direction in round eight, with Wardley slowing down as the damage to his nose from Clarke’s jabs grew worse, and his right eye started to close. The ringside physician let the fight continue after looking at Wardley in the tenth round.
With the fight close on the cards, both men mustered their energy to try to take the last two rounds. They worked to exhaustion until hearing the final bell. The judges scored it 114-113 Wardley, 115-112 Clarke, and 113-113. Wardley retains the titles.
Run Wardley and Clarke Back
It’s an obvious call to run this one back. As Boxxer promoter Shalom agreed, it’s the biggest fight both British heavyweights can make. The top names in the heavyweight division have their dance cards filled.
Wardley Clarke 2 is an even bigger fight for UK supremacy. It’s of more interest than a fight against any other young heavyweight, but they can wait.
Whittaker Walks Through Willings
Flashy light heavyweight Ben Whittaker of West Bromwich (7-0, 5 KOs) is a British favorite for his showboating style, similar to countryman Naseem Hamed. He’s a polarizing personality to others. Call it an acquired taste. Whittaker says his favorite fighters are Floyd Mayweather and – wait for it – Adrian Broner.
Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Whittaker has impressive skills, but he wastes time taunting his rivals, mugging for the crowd, and playing with his food with his trademark bop on the top of his opponent’s head.
It’s surprising his trainer, Sugarhill Steward of Detroit, lets him go to such extremes. Whittaker had little trouble Sunday with Leon Willings of Cheshire (7-2, 2 KOs). He won by a judge’s score of 78-73.
Results From the Boxxer Undercard
On the undercard, cruiserweight Viddal Riley of London (11-0, 6 KOs) got the better of his rival Mikael Lawal of London via Nigeria (17-2, 11 KOs). Riley handled Lawal with ease, winning by lopsided scores of 99-91 twice and 98-92.
Welterweight Chris Kongo of London (15-2, 7 KOs) outfought Florian Marku of London via Albania (13-1-1, 8 KOs), giving Marku his first professional loss. The scores were 98-92, 96-94, and 96-93. Kongo won a regional IBF title.
Super middleweight prospect Callum Simpson of Yorkshire (14-0, 10 KOs) defeated Dulla Mbabe of Tanzania (34-14-1, 29 KOs). Simpson knocked out Mbabe in the fourth round.
Croatian heavyweight Alen “Savage” Bebic (12-1, 11 KOs) says he’s “Savage 2.0” after coming back from his first loss to win with a sixth-round TKO of Steve Robinson (6-3, 4 KOs). Robinson didn’t offer much resistance against the hard-slugging Bebic, who knows only one way to fight.
Bebic isn’t slick or crafty, but he’s crowd-pleasing in the ring and a big personality who meets life head-on outside the ring. Bring us more Bebic.