Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom hopes the pace-setters for the heavyweight fight of the year will meet again before the end of 2024.
In March, British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley shared 12 memorable rounds at the O2 in London and, in the end, could not be separated by the judges. Clarke had been down, Wardley had been rocked, and the latter’s nose had been broken.
“Look, they both took a lot of punishment in that event,” said Shalom, who promotes Clarke. “They both need a bit of time out – even if they don’t want a bit of time out. Sometimes that’s the hardest thing with these sort of fighters, but that fight was brutal.
“You want them to take some time, but both of them seem to be recovering a little quicker than I expected, and I expect to see the fight this year. I do. But both of them have other big options. That’s the thing. A lot of fighters in that heavyweight division, there’s a lot of options out there for them, and I think Frazer Clarke, in particular – who we look after – he’s already had options presented to him, plenty of different options. But if you’re looking at the biggest fight for both of them, that’s the biggest money fight.”
Shalom was widely criticized last year for not allowing Clarke to fight Wardley, instead making him take more bouts to build his professional experience.
March 30 in London made that look like a shrewd move.
“No-brainer,” Shalom said. “If anything, it was ambitious and [still] early for Frazer. Even then. The same people who said we should have pulled him out were saying we were putting him in too early. You can’t really win, but we look after our fighters and I’m really pleased. It was an obvious decision in the first place, and to see it come off the way it did proved it to everyone.
“Frazer proved a lot of people wrong. He proved what we knew he had, and he went in there with limited experience in a professional ring and showed his heart for 12 rounds against a guy that was always dangerous, even when he’s down and out – and I think [Wardley] would give anyone problems because of that. Both of their stocks rose. To fight in front of over a million people who tuned in, to fight in a heavyweight clash like that, at the O2, that’s what creates stars.
“That’s what we saw with Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. Their careers will never be the same after that fight.”
It is well known that Wardley is a fight-to-fight free agent who likes to keep his options open, and Shalom anticipates that continuing despite the success of the promotion last time out.
“He’s always been a free agent, and that’s the way they roll. I respect that, and I think both Wardley and Clark are looking at the rematch,” Shalom said. “I think it’s the biggest fight for both of them, so that looks like the most likely fight for Fabio Wardley next – but we will see.”
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