Efe Apochi talks of destroying Cheavon Clarke; Clarke says his actions speak louder

It’s rare that much is said, never mind anything of note, at the final press conference held before a fight night. On this day, however, Efe Apochi was verbose, both complimenting his opponent while promising a violent ending for him.

That opponent – unbeaten cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke – had little to say in return. He prefers to let his fists do the talking.

And it’s expected that Apochi and Clarke will have quite the fistic conversation come Saturday night, when they perform on the undercard of super middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco facing Maciej Sulecki. The show will be broadcast on DAZN from the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Apochi is 12-2 (12 KOs), which means every fight he has won has ended before the bell, including a third-round stoppage of 14-0 Deon Nicholson. That victory was followed by the first of Apochi’s defeats – a split decision loss to Brandon Glanton in 2021, which was considered one of the best fights of that year.

Clarke is 9-0 (7 KOs), has knocked out two straight opponents, and competed in the 2020/2021 Olympics as a heavyweight (the amateur equivalent to cruiserweight).

“This is the day we’ve been waiting for a very long time,” Apochi, a 36-year-old from Houston by way of Nigeria, said. “I’ve never had a promoter. I’ve never been promoted. Never had anybody put money behind me. I’ve been doing this all by myself, training hard, preparing myself, because I know I’m the most dangerous cruiserweight in the world.”

At this, Apochi perceived a slight from elsewhere on the dais and turned his attention, and a bit of ire, toward Clarke.

“Yeah, you can lick your lips all you want, but you are facing the most dangerous cruiserweight in the world,” Apochi said. “Mr. Clarke, I’ve been your fan. I’ve been rooting for you. I’ve been watching all your fights. Live, not on YouTube. I really like you, man. You’re a great fighter, complete and mature. No disrespect to you. You’re a good guy. You’ve done your best. But today he is facing the greatest cruiserweight in the world. The underground king, that has not been crowned yet. And today I announce myself. Cruiserweight, hear me now: Your king is here.”

Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing – who promotes Clarke and is running Saturday’s show – mentioned Apochi’s amateur win over Jai Opetaia from about a decade ago. Opetaia is now the lineal cruiserweight champ in the pros.

“I destroyed him,” Apochi said.

Hearn asked Apochi about how he would defeat Calrke.

“I’ll knock him out,” Apochi responded. “When I say I’m the most dangerous cruiserweight in the world, I mean that. I’ve never truly lost a fight.”

Both of Apochi’s defeats, against Glanton and then against Adrian Taylor in April 2022 on the Errol Spence-Yordenis Ugas undercard, were via split decision. Apochi blamed those losses on not having a promoter, not being the in-house fighter and the result of the bout going to the scorecards. After the Taylor loss, Apochi spent about 22 months out of the ring, returning in February with a fifth-round technical knockout of 7-0 Lucas Pontes Da Silva.

“On Saturday, I’m just going to show you guys what I’m made of,” he said. “I’m knocking Clarke out. I bet a lot of money on myself, so it’s a double victory for me. He’s really not the guy. He’s a good fighter, but he’s really not the guy. When it comes to this level … look at me, Clarke. I’m talking to you. When it comes to this level, it’s a different ball game, bro. I don’t know how you’re going to survive, but I wish you good luck.”

Then it was Clarke’s turn to speak.

“I’m not with the chattin’ and lippin’. That’s not my thing,” Clarke said. “Come Saturday night, you guys will see what I do.”

This is Clarke’s third fight of 2024. He stopped 20-5 Tommy McCarthy in four rounds in January and put away Ellis Zorro in eight rounds in May.

“To be fair, if you check my record, I’ve beaten guys that are better than him,” Clarke said. “We’ll see come Saturday night.”

Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.