Fabio Wardley said he is a “massive” jump in class for Frazer Clarke ahead of their March 31 fight at London’s O2 Arena.
Clarke and Wardley had been on a collision course last year, but terms could not be agreed, talks collapsed and the bad blood has since manifested between the two.
Wardley is the more experienced pro, with more professional fights and weeks and weeks in training camp as a sparring partner with boxing’s biggest names, on the back off a spell as a white-collar fighter.
Clarke is the decorated former amateur star, who travelled the world learning his craft.
Clarke is now 8-0 (6 KOs), Wardley is 17-0 with six stoppages. Wardley’s experience gives him confidence ahead of their eagerly-awaited clash, and he represents a significant step-up for Clarke.
“Massive, yeah,” Said Wardley. “Massive. I don’t think there is a usable scale to compare the likes of me with where I am at with my trajectory, the fights I have had, and the push I have got behind me compared to the likes of Dave Allen and Mariusz Wach. Their ambition to fight and their reasons are worlds apart from mine.”
Both Wardley and Clarke have aspirations that extend far beyond their British and Commonwealth title fight. Wardley is coming off an impressive stoppage win over David Adeleye in Saudi Arabia last October, while Clarke defeated Allen in six in September.
Adeleye, unbeaten in 12, was a big win for Wardley, “an extremely satisfying win,” in his own words.
Some had felt it was a 50-50 fight beforehand.
“Yeah, yeah, they were,” Wardley added. “Don’t get me wrong, Adeleye had different attributes that people believed made him look the part. He was strong and powerful, had been knocking out opponents, and had the mouth to go with it. He talked a good game, and many people believed it and fell into it, but I showed on the night that there was quite a big gap between us.”
Adeleye was stopped in seven, and now Wardley wants to highlight the gap between him and Clarke and he believes he is the next British heavyweight who will be able to call himself world class.
“Yes, 1000 per cent, I think I am the next one up,” Wardley added. “If you look at Daniel Dubois… but he already has a world title opportunity. That doesn’t mean that he is done, not at all. He still has a lot in the game and lots of opportunities. But if you look at the next crop, that will be me. I am one of the top prospects in the UK.”
The Sunday, March 31, show is becoming increasingly stacked. There’s Viddal Riley v Michael Lawal at cruiser, Florian Marku v Chris Congo, Alen Babic v Steve Robinson and scheduled outings for prospects Callum Simpson and Ben Whittaker.
But Wardley is ready to take his career to the next level, making the statement against Clarke that he wanted to make last year until talks fell apart.
“If you look at the top guys, they only have a few years left, and when they move on, it will be me and a few others,” asserted Wardley.
When asked whether Clarke would join him near the top of the mountain in the future, Wardley smiled: “I don’t know, who knows where his career will go after a loss to me.”