The British heavyweight title heads to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – again

Aside from the punches thrown and the damage done, what made the British heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke such a thrilling spectacle had a lot to do with its purity and its heart. It was, in short, a British heavyweight title fight done right; the way it should be done. It had been talked about, it had been built up, and then, crucially, at just the right time, it had been delivered, expertly. 

It was, in many ways, an elevated British heavyweight title fight, both in terms of prestige and promotion. For one, it took place at London’s O2 Arena, one of the country’s largest indoor venues, when traditionally British title fights tend to land in smaller British venues. It was also televised on Sky Sports as a non-pay-per-view offering and therefore received the mainstream push only Sky Sports can these days produce, with both heavyweights granted the stage and platform required. Indeed, so great was the push and the platform, at times it felt almost unwarranted, particularly given neither Wardley nor Clarke had yet to progress beyond domestic title level. 

But that is what this game is all about, of course: promotion. Moreover, it is about finding the right fighters to fight at the right time and for it to happen, this fight, in the right place. With Wardley and Clarke in March, you had all of that and more. You had some history between them, albeit brief, and you also had the history of the belt being contested; significantly longer. You could then capitalize on the British public’s thirst for heavyweight action and attempt to make stars of these two men, at least in their home country. 

After that, the job was theirs, and Wardley and Clarke, to their credit, went above and beyond. Standing toe to toe for each of the 12 rounds they shared, there was a knockdown, a points deduction, facial damage, and everything in between. There were momentum shifts aplenty and even better, as far as the rivalry was concerned, the perfect ending: a draw. Stuck on a cliff edge, fight one would now naturally lead to fight two and this meant that Wardley and Clarke, after a little rest, would have to later revisit the same dark places to which they vowed, if just to themselves, they would never return. 

Still, the upside of an inevitable rematch is that both fighters will be well compensated. In most cases, in fact, the two fighters will be paid more for the rematch than they were for the first fight – and for good reason, too. The rematch, after all, if not ordered due to some controversy, is often their/our reward for the quality of the first fight, as was the case with Wardley and Clarke. Although they could not be separated, these two, and although the draw needed scrubbing, the real reason people wanted to see them fight again was because the first fight between them was so compelling and so pure. Better yet, the remarrying of Wardley and Clarke would guarantee another big night for British boxing, the likes of which have been few and far between of late. 

All that had to be sorted, it appeared, were the details, the logistics. With Wardley still a free agent, everything initially pointed to them returning to the O2 Arena later in the year when both had healed and recuperated. However, there was mention, too, of the rematch landing on an undercard of a bigger heavyweight fight held in a UK stadium. There were then fears it may not happen at all. 

“I don’t know,” said Wardley when, in May, I asked him about the possibility of rematching Clarke. “I’ve heard rumors from their side that they are looking for other options for him, so I really don’t know. We had a little thing on Sky the other day and he said he wants it again, but then I’ve heard from other parties that he is actually looking at other options for his next fight. I’m not sure at this stage.

“At some point, even if it wasn’t immediately, I would feel begrudged if we didn’t go again,” Wardley continued. “I said to my team on the night, ‘We’re not celebrating a draw. A draw isn’t a win. I know I’ve still got my belts and that’s all great, but ultimately I did not win, so we’re not celebrating. There’s nothing to celebrate here.’ So, yeah, I probably would feel a little begrudged if we didn’t settle the score. There’s still a lot there between us.”

The good news for Wardley and Clarke is that the rematch is going to happen, confirmation of which arrived last night (August 20) at a time when many in the UK were either preparing to go to bed, or already asleep. In a single tweet we discovered the date (October 12) and the location (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), and we discovered, too, why the announcement of Wardley vs. Clarke II could be done via social media at around 10 pm on a Tuesday.

Yes, the British heavyweight title will again be at stake on October 12, but there will be few British fans in attendance to see where it ends up. Also, this time, unlike before, Wardley and Clarke will not be the headline attraction but instead an appetizer, or afterthought.

Still, in the grand scheme of things, that is okay. The main thing really is that the rematch is happening and that Wardley and Clarke, for all their efforts last time, are being handsomely rewarded to run it back. Presumably, too, thanks to the Saudi influence, they are being rewarded in ways they could only imagine when first ordered to box for the Lonsdale belt by the British Boxing Board of Control. This, needless to say, will not be a British title-level payday. It will instead bring them both the kind of riches that can only be found in the desert. 

Perhaps, in the end, that is all that matters. Perhaps questioning the decision to take a British heavyweight title rematch to Saudi Arabia is a selfish stance to take, one that undermines the importance of hard-working British boxers getting paid for putting their lives at risk. Yet, even if that’s indeed the case, still it is hard to ignore the peculiarity of it all. It is just as hard to then ignore what may have been sacrificed for Wardley and Clarke to reunite; how both a degree of visibility and momentum will be lost as a result of them venturing to the Middle East. That may not mean much now, when both are busy imagining how they will spend their money, but taking them away at a time when their popularity in the UK was on the rise appears, on the face of it, to undo a lot of the good work done earlier this year. 

In answer to that, those involved will shrug, then tell you not to worry. They will say a ring is a ring, they will point out that Wardley has defended his British title in Riyadh before (against David Adeleye in October 2023), and they will say we should just be thankful this fight – which, bizarrely, may not have happened without either Saudi money or a pay-per-view date – is going ahead.

And yet the concern here is not the location itself, but instead what having a British heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia both says and represents. This, after all, is not a world title fight. It is a distinctly British affair. Moreover, while we accept that many of the best fights are heading to the Middle East these days, if even the best British title fights are now destined for the desert, what exactly is left for those at home? If the reward for helping to make Wardley vs. Clarke I such a spectacle is to then watch the rematch take place in a silent venue in Saudi through a TV, phone or laptop, where is the incentive to buy a ticket for the next Wardley vs. Clarke I? Already we have seen a drop off in the quality of main events in Britain in recent years and this will surely only continue for as long as Saudi Arabia is considered not a threat to the health of British boxing but, for its promoters and its boxers, a second home; one in which doting grandparents offer them sweets and pull folded ten-pound notes from behind their ears the minute they enter any room.