Frazer Clarke has been picking Lennox Lewis’ brains ahead of his rematch with British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, Fabio Wardley, which takes place in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
In March, Clarke and Wardley battled to an exciting split draw at the O2 Arena in London. The eagerly awaited return will act as the chief support to the outstanding undisputed light heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Lewis was involved in his fair share of tussles and disputes outside of the ring but the former heavyweight king mastered the art of controlling himself as fight week ticked by and the first bell drew ever closer.
At times, Lewis’ level of relaxation would drive his trainer, Emanuel Steward, to distraction but it meant that Lewis always had untapped levels of mental and physical stamina in reserve.
Yes, he badly underestimated the threat posed by the South African altitude and Hasim Rahman’s right hand but although Lewis could appear tired, he was never found wanting over the championship distance and prevailed in edge of the seat gut checks with Ray Mercer and Shannon Briggs.
His serenity also enabled him to be coldly efficient when he detected even the slightest sense of intimidation in an opponent.
Rather than getting caught up in the atmosphere generated inside an emotional Madison Square Garden, Lewis calmly eliminated the great American hope, Michael Grant, and although Andrew Golota fights carried their own unique sense of jeopardy, Lewis rose above the noise and blew the dangerous but unpredictable Pole away inside a round.
“We spoke a lot about handling fight weeks,” Clarke, 8-0-1 (6 KOs), said at Tuesday’s grand arrivals. “He said when you go in front of the cameras, we build fights and we put on a bravado and then, in between, I’m very relaxed. It’s almost like the fight. There are moments of high intensity and there will be moments where I’m low intensity.
“You learn, as you get more seasoned in the pro’s, that there’s a time to turn it on and there’s a time to turn it off. The important thing is picking the moments.
“As a boxing fan and a fighter, it’s easy to get carried away with it. This is where the team is so important. I’m a nice guy and I’d speak to everybody if I could but I told the team today, ‘Listen, as soon as you think I’m doing too much get me out of there.’”
First time around, Clarke got dragged into a crowd pleasing, emotional battle with Wardley. The British champion certainly isn’t the type of character to be intimidated or overawed by the event this weekend but it seems likely that Clarke will be best served by detaching himself from the rivalry aspect of the fight and concentrating on the boxing ability that earned him an Olympic bronze medal.
Clarke spent years training at the highest level of amateur boxing and grew accustomed to facing the same men time and time again. Tiny adjustments can reap huge dividends when the margins are so narrow and logic suggests that – of the two fighters – he should be more experienced than Wardley in identifying the areas that offer him the biggest opportunities when the pair meet again this weekend.
“Getting in there and doing the things I’ve learned in camp,” Clarke said when asked what a perfect night looks like for him. “Working on the things I did well and doing the things I didn’t do so well a lot better. This game, it’s not just the biggest, strongest man wins. You’ve got to be a thinking fighter as well and I’d like to think I’m that. I’ve learned from my mistakes and, on Saturday night, I’ll show everyone who the best is.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79
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