Fabio Wardley said he had “zero doubt” about taking the rematch with Frazer Clarke.
The British heavyweights served up an early Fight of the Year contender when they shared 12 violent rounds to top the bill at London’s O2 Arena in March.
On October 12, they meet in a rematch at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia and at today’s London press conference both said they felt they had won the first bout, which wound up being a terrifically hard-fought draw.
“It depends who you ask,” said Wardley, 17-0-1 (16 KOs). “I don’t think it was a draw at all. I think I pressed the fight. I pressed the action. I had him going in the fight numerous times. I had him down. Got a point deduction. I think there’s many a point there that proved I won the fight, but [it] set up for a bigger rematch so there’s not much to complain about. I get to come back to Riyadh, do it on a massive show on a massive card and settle the score properly.”
There were other opportunities, but the 29-year-old from Ipswich said little compared to the chance to put his rivalry with his fellow Englishman behind him.
“I had options, but there was some unfinished business there,” Wardley added. “There were some bits to settle. I’m not the sort of person to leave things to lie. I want it settled. I want it finished. I want that chapter ticked off to move forward. While we played around with a few other options, realistically the only other thing was to finish off Frazer.”
Wardley, the British heavyweight champion, said he was “looking to put on a clean, clinical knockout.”
Likewise, Clarke said there was no other fight he wanted more than the return.
“Before I got back to the changing rooms [after the first bout], this is the fight that I wanted,” Clarke said. “The draw didn’t sit well with me. You could see I was devastated at the end of the fight, and I’m glad we got it on because quite frankly I’ve had a lot of good things to say about Fabio since that fight now we’re here and now I’ve seen him, I can’t wait to just smash him in the face again. So I’m glad it’s here.”
Clarke, an Olympic bronze medallist from the Tokyo Olympics, is 33 and now 8-0-1 (6 KOs). He said, on review of the March war with Wardley, he identified “mistake after mistake.” He also said he felt a degree of imposter syndrome, being seated alongside bill-toppers Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, who meet to unify the world light heavyweight title in the main event on October 12.
“I’ve put the work in. Really really put it on myself to iron out those creases and right them wrongs,” Clarke added. “I’m taking a lot from these guys that are top of the bill.”
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