His fighting record clearly indicates otherwise. The 33-year-old has fought nine times total since making his debut in February 2019. However, during the first eight, Clarke didn’t seem like a man who was entirely content with himself.
A rising heavyweight boxer’s training regimen includes beating routine workhorses like Mariusz Wach, Kamil Sokolowski, and Ariel Esteban Bracamonte. Despite his lack of formal education, Clarke had a long amateur career that included gold and bronze from the Commonwealth, as well as other medals at the national and European levels.
When Clarke battled Fabio Wardley for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight belts seven months ago, he finally broke through into the professional ranks. A thrilling drama that will be in the running for fight of the year in the end took place at the O2 Arena after twelve rounds of violence, blood, brutality, and heart.
“I don’t really consider the first eight fights to be fights because they seemed more like canters,” Clarke stated to Boxing News. To be perfectly honest, throughout some of those bouts, I wasn’t all that impressed with myself. I believe I have only engaged in one professional altercation, which was with Fabio Wardley.
He went on, “You have to become somewhat familiar with the game.” It differs slightly from what you initially believed it to be. Professional boxing is not the same thing as what it says on the tin. Additionally, I dislike the word “journeyman” since all of the men you go in with are incredibly tough and may not be able to win, but they still want to provide a good impression in order to get paid again, so they are difficult to beat and take down.
When the boxer from Burton-on-Trent faced Wardley back in March, Clarke gave it his all, but the outcome—a split draw—disappointed him. Clarke was a little foolish versus Wardley, losing on the canvas and losing a point for low punches despite his advanced age and experience.
On Saturday night, in Riyadh, on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, Wardley and Clarke will square off once more for the British title. In the first battle, Clarke showed signs of being a skilled boxer, but he fought fire with fire, going up against an aggressive Wardley who didn’t want to give Clarke a chance to think or even breathe.
For Clarke, disappointment translated into pride. If we assume the second combat continues where the first ended, there will be considerably more to carry. Clarke warned BN that “it could catch fire quick,” knowing that’s how things could turn out.
But after a conflict that required tremendous effort from both sides, the most common thought is usually how much it depleted them. Regardless of weight class, the boxers in all the best battles have the statement “They left a part of themselves in the ring” hanging over them. Furthermore, the pain and injury in heavyweight, where the men are bigger and strike much harder, are unimaginable and might not manifest for years.While Clarke acknowledges that there may still be traces of him in the O2 Arena, he and the other boxers signed up for this. Clarke stated, “We’re probably a little bit naïve.” He continues, “But I don’t look as far as tomorrow.”
