BOXXER founder and chairman Ben Shalom held an interview centered around what led to Frazer Clarke being pulled out from the British Boxing Board of Control’s (BBBofC) purse bids to face British Heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley. The promoter also stirred up some confusion and controversy by claiming his fighter isn’t yet ready to face Wardley.
Ben Shalom’s interview with Boxing News came after BOXXER’s retreat from the BBBofC’s purse bids, which in itself came off the back of the British governing body’s mandate for Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KO’s) to defend his British Heavyweight title against Frazer Clarke. While both fighters are in different stages of their careers with Clarke having only 6 fights under his belt (6-0, 4 KO’s) as opposed to Wardley’s 16 fights, both are considered to be the best British Heavyweight prospects right now.
While Frazer Clarke does not have the same level of pro experience as Wardley, his more-than-a decade stint as an amateur while boxing under the British national boxing team (Team Great Britain or Team GB) ― as well as the fights he’s currently had as a pro ― was thought to have prepared him for the likes of Wardley or longer rounds than he is accustomed to, but Ben Shalom seems to believe otherwise.
“Anthony Joshua fought for a British title in his 15th fight, Joe Joyce in his 12th.” Shalom said.
“We’ve been trying to push for that fight. We’re trying to negotiate that fight, but we’re not going in a situation where he can be going into a 12-rounder on three weeks’ notice because it’s just careless, and we care about our fighter ― and he’ll fight anyone ― but it’s careless.”
Ben Shalom’s words hold merit in that most boxers would need more rounds in order to become accustomed to longer rounds, but in both the case of Anthony Joshua (25-3, 22 KO’s) and Joe Joyce (15-1, 14 KO’s) ― both fighters he referenced, they proved to be ready for twelve rounds without necessarily going through those amount of rounds.
Anthony Joshua had not fought past the fourth round in the bouts he had before fighting in his first 12-round fight against Gary Cornish in which he stopped is opponent in just the 1st round.
Aside from Joe Joyce’s debut fight which went to 8 rounds (out of 10), Joyce had not fought past the 1st round in his subsequent two fights, and in his fourth fight, he competed in his first 12-round match, which ended in the second round.
Fabio Wardley himself only fought in his first 12-round fight just last year, but that fight did not make it past the third round when he stopped his opponent Nathan Gorman in that round. Wardley himself hasn’t fought past six round throughout his career.
The notion that a fighter needs to go through twelve actual rounds in order to compete in a 12-round fight is essentially not reality. Every fighter has a different learning curve, and Frazer Clarke competing in more 10-round or 12-round fights prior to facing Fabio Wardley will essentially mean nothing if he stops or knocks out his opponents early.
The preparation for longer rounds ― through training camps ― is what is more essential to a fighter’s ability to fight longer, but Shalom did not indicate in his interview that Clarke would struggle going through harder camps to prepare for longer rounds. Instead, the promoter’s words focused on Frazer Clarke needing to go through one or two additional 8/10-round fights to prepare himself for a 12-round match with Fabio Wardley.
It is also quite common for amateur fighters to find themselves quickly becoming accustomed to more rounds, as Joe Joyce himself proved by fighting in his first 12-round fight by just his fourth match. Vasyl Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KO’s) is another example (though an extreme one given his amateur pedigree) of an amateur talent that would go on to fight in a 10-round fight in his debut, and his second match was a 12-round contest.
Ben Shalom also mentioned that Frazer Clarke could possibly find himself in a situation where he’d fight in a twelve-round fight within three weeks’ notice. That might not be too accurate of a statement given the fight against Fabio Wardley could be scheduled no later than the end of September. Even if Clarke had taken a fight in June or July in the interim, he would still have plenty of time to prepare himself for a match-up against Wardley in September, by the latest.
Overall, Ben Shalom’s interview proved to be a confusing attempt at trying to explain that BOXXER/Sky Sports had pulled out of the BBBofC’s purse bids. Though the reason is still speculated with them likely being either afraid that their fighter would lose against Wardley or incapable of funding and organizing the match and event. In an effort to explain their case, Shalom has wrought even more confusion by simply not admitting to the true reason of why Clarke was pulled out.
