The violent pasts of Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke outweigh the Riyadh undercard. At the end of 12 of the most intense rounds of 2024, in March, Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke were inseparable.
The scores in their bout for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles were 113-113 for Wardley, 115-112 for Clarke. When they arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for their rematch, Wardley simply stated that blood was still coming out of his nose. Clarke, on the other hand, bounced back from a knockdown to maybe do enough to win.
Disappointment that they will fight again at the Kingdom Arena on the undercard of the incredibly alluring undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol stems from the fact that their first match was so exciting and drew such a boisterous crowd at London’s O2 Arena. The fighters may even be the ones who suffer the most from the location if their rematch ends up being anywhere close to as physical and away from their fans.
In the wee hours of April 1, Wardley, 29, admitted that a difficult battle can reduce a person’s career as well as their life expectancy. Not only is Wardley younger than the 33-year-old Clarke, but he is also considered fresher because of Clarke’s amateur history, even though Wardley is facing the 8-0-1 (6 KOs) Olympic bronze medallist in his 19th professional fight.
If Wardley, 17-0-1 (16 KOs), was the favorite for the fight in March due to his greater professional experience and opposition, there was also a belief that Clarke’s superior education gave him the advantage because Wardley was a white-collar boxer before turning professional, which has exceeded expectations. When Wardley dropped him with a right hand in the fifth round, it appeared as though he would record his most recent stoppage. However, Clarke rallied spectacularly and showed off his superior boxing IQ, mobility, and jab to the point where, if he hadn’t had a point taken away in the seventh round for repeatedly landing low blows, he would have prevailed by a narrow margin.
They were so evenly matched in March that, barring an unforeseen circumstance owing to Clarke’s advanced age and lengthy amateur career (as well as the negative consequences of the 12 rounds he previously shared with Wardley), it is reasonable to anticipate a competitive rematch for the British title on Saturday that will be decided by two questions above all else.
Based on how their first fight played out, Clarke seemed to have more confidence and was better able to deal with Wardley’s threat. It might also be noteworthy that Wardley entered their first fight with a lot of momentum, which was cut short when he lost for the first time. If Clarke can fight with the same level of conviction that he began to display in March, when Wardley was consequently made to appear more limited, then he should be able to win a fight that could change his career and possibly win it decisively on points.
Even though it’s not anticipated to be as competitive, the world’s top cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will be defending his title against Jack Massey, who is becoming a better opponent every day. When Massey defeated Isaac Chamberlain in June on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith-Richard Riakporhe and won the Commonwealth and vacant European title, he was the underdog.
That is eventually aided by the fact that Szeremeta, who is 35, is his opponent. The Pole has an 8-KO, 25-2-2 record. His sparring matches with Nizar Trimech and the unheralded Abel Mina from his previous bout serve as examples of his skill. Prior to taking against Trimech in 2021, he had suffered consecutive stoppage losses to the legendary Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguia. While Munguia was far from the fighter he is proven to be in 2024 and Golovkin was already declining, neither defeat is anything to be even slightly ashamed of.
Unavoidably, there is a great deal more intrigue around Mohammed Alakel’s four-round super featherweight matchup with Jesus Gonzalez. Gonzalez, 21, of Colombia, is 3-2. Gallagher is the trainer for Alakel, a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian. On a promotion meant in part as a celebration of Saudi Arabia, a cynic could be tempted to imply that he is exceedingly unlikely to be matched with an opponent expected to do anything other than lose to him.The violent pasts of Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke outweigh the Riyadh undercard.
At the end of 12 of the most intense rounds of 2024, in March, Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke were inseparable.
The scores in their bout for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles were 113-113 for Wardley, 115-112 for Clarke. When they arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for their rematch, Wardley simply stated that blood was still coming out of his nose. Clarke, on the other hand, bounced back from a knockdown to maybe do enough to win.
Disappointment that they will fight again at the Kingdom Arena on the undercard of the incredibly alluring undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol stems from the fact that their first match was so exciting and drew such a boisterous crowd at London’s O2 Arena. The fighters may even be the ones who suffer the most from the location if their rematch ends up being anywhere close to as physical and away from their fans.
In the wee hours of April 1, Wardley, 29, admitted that a difficult battle can reduce a person’s career as well as their life expectancy. Not only is Wardley younger than the 33-year-old Clarke, but he is also considered fresher because of Clarke’s amateur history, even though Wardley is facing the 8-0-1 (6 KOs) Olympic bronze medallist in his 19th professional fight.
If Wardley, 17-0-1 (16 KOs), was the favorite for the fight in March due to his greater professional experience and opposition, there was also a belief that Clarke’s superior education gave him the advantage because Wardley was a white-collar boxer before turning professional, which has exceeded expectations. When Wardley dropped him with a right hand in the fifth round, it appeared as though he would record his most recent stoppage. However, Clarke rallied spectacularly and showed off his superior boxing IQ, mobility, and jab to the point where, if he hadn’t had a point taken away in the seventh round for repeatedly landing low blows, he would have prevailed by a narrow margin.
They were so evenly matched in March that, barring an unforeseen circumstance owing to Clarke’s advanced age and lengthy amateur career (as well as the negative consequences of the 12 rounds he previously shared with Wardley), it is reasonable to anticipate a competitive rematch for the British title on Saturday that will be decided by two questions above all else.
Based on how their first fight played out, Clarke seemed to have more confidence and was better able to deal with Wardley’s threat. It might also be noteworthy that Wardley entered their first fight with a lot of momentum, which was cut short when he lost for the first time. If Clarke can fight with the same level of conviction that he began to display in March, when Wardley was consequently made to appear more limited, then he should be able to win a fight that could change his career and possibly win it decisively on points.
Even though it’s not anticipated to be as competitive, the world’s top cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will be defending his title against Jack Massey, who is becoming a better opponent every day. When Massey defeated Isaac Chamberlain in June on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith-Richard Riakporhe and won the Commonwealth and vacant European title, he was the underdog.
That is eventually aided by the fact that Szeremeta, who is 35, is his opponent. The Pole has an 8-KO, 25-2-2 record. His sparring matches with Nizar Trimech and the unheralded Abel Mina from his previous bout serve as examples of his skill. Prior to taking against Trimech in 2021, he had suffered consecutive stoppage losses to the legendary Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguia. While Munguia was far from the fighter he is proven to be in 2024 and Golovkin was already declining, neither defeat is anything to be even slightly ashamed of.
Unavoidably, there is a great deal more intrigue around Mohammed Alakel’s four-round super featherweight matchup with Jesus Gonzalez. Gonzalez, 21, of Colombia, is 3-2. Gallagher is the trainer for Alakel, a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian. On a promotion meant in part as a celebration of Saudi Arabia, a cynic could be tempted to imply that he is exceedingly unlikely to be matched with an opponent expected to do anything other than lose to him.At the end of 12 of the most intense rounds of 2024, in March, Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke were inseparable.
The scores in their bout for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles were 113-113 for Wardley, 115-112 for Clarke. When they arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for their rematch, Wardley simply stated that blood was still coming out of his nose. Clarke, on the other hand, bounced back from a knockdown to maybe do enough to win.
Disappointment that they will fight again at the Kingdom Arena on the undercard of the incredibly alluring undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol stems from the fact that their first match was so exciting and drew such a boisterous crowd at London’s O2 Arena. The fighters may even be the ones who suffer the most from the location if their rematch ends up being anywhere close to as physical and away from their fans.
In the wee hours of April 1, Wardley, 29, admitted that a difficult battle can reduce a person’s career as well as their life expectancy. Not only is Wardley younger than the 33-year-old Clarke, but he is also considered fresher because of Clarke’s amateur history, even though Wardley is facing the 8-0-1 (6 KOs) Olympic bronze medallist in his 19th professional fight.
If Wardley, 17-0-1 (16 KOs), was the favorite for the fight in March due to his greater professional experience and opposition, there was also a belief that Clarke’s superior education gave him the advantage because Wardley was a white-collar boxer before turning professional, which has exceeded expectations. When Wardley dropped him with a right hand in the fifth round, it appeared as though he would record his most recent stoppage. However, Clarke rallied spectacularly and showed off his superior boxing IQ, mobility, and jab to the point where, if he hadn’t had a point taken away in the seventh round for repeatedly landing low blows, he would have prevailed by a narrow margin.
They were so evenly matched in March that, barring an unforeseen circumstance owing to Clarke’s advanced age and lengthy amateur career (as well as the negative consequences of the 12 rounds he previously shared with Wardley), it is reasonable to anticipate a competitive rematch for the British title on Saturday that will be decided by two questions above all else.
Based on how their first fight played out, Clarke seemed to have more confidence and was better able to deal with Wardley’s threat. It might also be noteworthy that Wardley entered their first fight with a lot of momentum, which was cut short when he lost for the first time. If Clarke can fight with the same level of conviction that he began to display in March, when Wardley was consequently made to appear more limited, then he should be able to win a fight that could change his career and possibly win it decisively on points.
Even though it’s not anticipated to be as competitive, the world’s top cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will be defending his title against Jack Massey, who is becoming a better opponent every day. When Massey defeated Isaac Chamberlain in June on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith-Richard Riakporhe and won the Commonwealth and vacant European title, he was the underdog.
That is eventually aided by the fact that Szeremeta, who is 35, is his opponent. The Pole has an 8-KO, 25-2-2 record. His sparring matches with Nizar Trimech and the unheralded Abel Mina from his previous bout serve as examples of his skill. Prior to taking against Trimech in 2021, he had suffered consecutive stoppage losses to the legendary Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguia. While Munguia was far from the fighter he is proven to be in 2024 and Golovkin was already declining, neither defeat is anything to be even slightly ashamed of.
Unavoidably, there is a great deal more intrigue around Mohammed Alakel’s four-round super featherweight matchup with Jesus Gonzalez. Gonzalez, 21, of Colombia, is 3-2. Gallagher is the trainer for Alakel, a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian. On a promotion meant in part as a celebration of Saudi Arabia, a cynic could be tempted to imply that he is exceedingly unlikely to be matched with an opponent expected to do anything other than lose to him.
