Highly-lauded former British amateur Olympic bronze medalist, now professional boxer, Frazer Clarke recorded a solid but unimpressive victory over Heavyweight veteran Mariusz Wach. Following the purse bid debacle that saw BOXXER/Sky Sports pull out of the purse bids that would have pitted Clarke against current British Heavyweight title holder Fabio Wardley. In the aftermath of the debacle, Clarke was quickly matched with Mariusz Wach for 10 rounds.
Frazer Clarke (7-0, 5 KO’s) won on points rather than a decision due to the referee acting as a judge in this instance, which eliminates the possibility of a decision result as there were no judges to officiate the fight. Mariusz Wach (37-10, 20 KO’s), a veteran Polish Heavyweight that was 43-years of age proved to be a tough customer for Clarke.
Wach, known for his strong chin and durability, is far past the age when he faced the likes of Wladimir Klitschko but he proved his resilience once more against Frazer Clarke. Clarke himself seemed more intent on finishing all the rounds rather than finishing his opponent. and completed his first ten rounds.
Though Clarke won after ten rounds, his post-fight callout towards Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KO’s) only rose eyebrows as he again stated his intention to face Wardley. This comes off the back of his own promoter driving home the point of Frazer Clarke needing 10 rounds to be ready to face the likes of Wardley, following the failed purse bids that prevented Clarke from facing Wardley.
Though this is not Clarke’s first callout towards Wardley, the timing of his decision couldn’t be worse as the purse bids were held barely a month ago, and Clarke’s own performance against Wach left plenty of room for improvement, as Clarke himself said following the match.
“Well done to Ben Shalom, well done to Will Hardy and 258 for making that decision.” Clarke said following the fight, referring to BOXXER pulling him out of the purse bids with Fabio Wardley. “I’m not saying I would have lost, but I could definitely be better.”
After the match, Clarke’s promoter Ben Shalom was also entertaining the notion of Frazer Clarke fighting Fabio Wardley for his next fight, and Clarke himself seemed much more deliberate and intent on facing Wardley next.
“Look, I got tired after 6 (rounds). Come on and fight! Let’s do it!” Clarke interrupted his promoter to call out Wardley.
Clarke and Wardley had been originally scheduled for a 12-round fight for the BBBofC’s British Heavyweight title that is still held by Wardley. Ben Shalom however contradicted Clarke’s plans immediately after his fighter’s callout.
“We want to get him an active good fighter.” Was part of Shalom’s response afterwards, though this reply did not substantiate whether that would be Wardley or not.
Despite Frazer Clarke’s callout of the British Heavyweight champion, there seem to be conflicting goals for him and his promoter who seems more intent on letting Clarke grow. Frazer Clarke currently only has 7 fights under his belt while Fabio Wardley has already gone through 16 professional fights. While Wardley established himself as a prominent British Heavyweight by grinding it out in the pro’s, Clarke has spent most of his boxing career as an amateur and has only just entered the professional ranks of boxing since making his debut in 2022.
