British Heavyweight contender Fabio Wardley unveiled jarring information surrounding the purse bids involved between him and Frazer Clarke for their domestic bout that was mandated by the BBBofC for the British Heavyweight title ― currently held by Wardley. The BBBofC had ordered purse bids to commence this week between the two fighters’ teams. However, the bout will no longer take place as Frazer Clarke’s team has completely withdrawn from the purse bids.
With both Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KO’s) and Frazer Clarke (6-0, 5 KO’s) known as two of the best up-and-coming British Heavyweights, the BBBofC’s mandate for them to face each other was a significant and perhaps groundbreaking decision for British boxing.
With many current elite British boxers having been pitted against their domestic rivals to elevate them from a budding talent to a legitimate contender, British title bouts organized by the BBBofC have always been a reliable tradition in British boxing to decide the next world-class boxer. Several of today’s British fighters who have become world champions, including Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Lawrence Okolie, and Billy Joe Saunders, have engaged in domestic match-ups against fellow Brits who were as highly regarded in terms of talent.
The Heavyweight division is widely regarded as the most popular weight class in boxing. The anticipated bout between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke was highly anticipated. However, the fight will no longer take place as Boxxer has withdrawn their fighter, Frazer Clarke, from the BBBofC’s purse bids, as confirmed by Wardley’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
“Heard from the BBBofC that Boxxer has pulled Frazer Clarke out of the Fabio Wardley purse bid today. What a complete joke and a waste of our time. Robbing the fighters of opportunity and the fans of a brilliant fight. Shambles.” Eddie Hearn responded aggravatingly on Twitter.
Interestingly, neither the BBBofC, Boxxer, nor their broadcaster Sky Sports has made any statements on this matter, which suggests that the silence may confirm the truth in this case. With BBBofC also refusing to give any news on what happened on the purse bids that were set to occur on Wednesday, it can be assumed that the information surrounding the withdrawal of Frazer Clarke is true.
In response to Boxxer’s withdrawal from the purse bids, Fabio Wardley strongly criticized the promotion that represents his domestic rival Frazer Clarke. He provided further details during an interview with Sporting Icons.
“I was looking forward to this.” Wardley said during the interview. “Either way it went it was going to be a great fight. It was going to be a big event. It was going to be massive, not just for us as the boxers but also the boxing community.
“And then, two-three hours before, the whole things gets pulled. It’s abysmal and it’s really poor and unprofessional behavior as well.”
As mentioned earlier, none of the parties involved with Frazer Clarke have yet to even put out any sort of message regarding Boxxer’s withdrawal from the purse bid for the British Heavyweight showdown, lending credibility to Wardley’s claim of the involved parties being unprofessional.
With the winner of Wardley-Clarke set to be regarded as the next British Heavyweight to make waves in the upper echelon of the Heavyweight division, there was obviously a lot to win and lose for both fighters. What stands out in this situation is the complete absence of communication from the parties that withdrew from the purse bids.
This situation is further complicated by the fact that Boxxer’s founder and head, Ben Shalom, seemed enthusiastic about the fight and even claimed that they had offered Fabio Wardley his highest purse to date. However, Wardley himself refuted this claim.
“I’m not going to disclose any details of money, there’s certain things I can and can’t say in regards to that, but it was a clickbaity post that had a lot more behind it than was initially disclosed.” Wardley responded to the question on Boxxer claiming they were giving him a career-high payday.
“They offered me a multi-fight deal and the first fight of the deal was not more than I got paid for my last fight, it was less than.” The British Heavyweight clarified.
“First of all, I’m not going to take a fight for less than what I just got paid for. I’m moving up, my profile is building. I’m not going to go backwards in payment.
“Also, it was a career-high payday on the back-end of the multi-fight deal. The first fight wasn’t against Frazer CLarke. The second fight wasn’t against Frazer. I think it was the third fight they wanted to be against Frazer Carke and then that was the ‘record payday’, three fights down the line.
“Well, I could go with any other promotion. If I stayed with Matchroom for three fights I’d probably beat the money that they (Boxxer/Sky Sports) were offering quite easily cause I’m already ahead of the numbers they are offering me now. So, don’t spin the story to make it sound like I’m the one turning down the fight because you offered me ‘so much’ money.“
Although the two fighters are at different stages of their careers, they are both highly talented British Heavyweights who are seen as having the potential to compete for a world title. Frazer Clarke, 31, faces a similar situation as Joe Joyce as in that he entered the pro ranks of boxing rather late ― after a successful and lengthy amateur career ― and is still aiming to become a legitimate contender.
In contrast, Fabio Wardley who is 28-years old, has now transitioned into being a prospective world title challenger and seems only two or three fights away from getting an opportunity; depending on who he fights in his next fights.
Essentially, the matchup between the two may have always been somewhat uneven, as Frazer Clarke has more experience in the amateur ranks, while Fabio Wardley appears to be more advanced in terms of professional experience.
If Clarke’s promoters believed that their fighter was not prepared due to a lack of professional experience, they could have communicated this instead of ‘wasting time and money,’ as stated by Wardley and his promoter. In this sense, Boxxer and Sky Sports are acting counter to the interests of British boxing by delaying fights and displaying disingenuous behavior.
It is hoped that in the future, the two British Heavyweights will eventually meet in the ring in what would undoubtedly be a highly significant event in British boxing, potentially rivaling the intense bout between former unified Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and former world title challenger Dillian Whyte.
