Fabio Wardley scored an emphatic first round stoppage of Frazer Clarke in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Following on from their thriller back in March which ended in a split draw, Wardley – who scored the sole knockdown in their first meeting – and Clarke took their rivalry on the road to Riyadh, this time both determined to take the fight out of the hands of the judges.
Ahead of the contest, Wardley dismissed worries about scar tissue on his nose and whether or not the cut opening up could cause him problems or even lead to a stoppage.
Though Clarke did land some stiff jabs after the opening bell, there was no blood and Wardley didn’t feel like sticking around to let that happen. In the dying seconds of the first round, the champion unleashed a huge overhand right to send the challenger onto the ropes.
Clarke was in survival mode in an attempt to get his legs beneath him. During the melee he landed a good uppercut, but quickly turned his back again and Wardley capitalised with another right hand that crumpled the 270 pound Olympian. It was all over – an incredible statement from Wardley. Post-fight, he said:
“Once I hurt someone I can get rid of them. I made some errors in the first fight. I went into that fight with a lot of background issues. My team said maybe we shouldn’t take it. This time, I put my gameplan together … War by name war by nature. Once I have my enemies hurt, there’s no helping them. Unless that bell comes that’s the only thing that can save you.”
He moves to 18-0 with 17 knockouts. He will likely vacate the British and Commonwealth Titles now to take a step up the heavyweight ladder, confirming his goal is now firmly world belts.
An extremely tough loss to take for Clarke, who received oxygen in his corner before paying respect to his opponent. Former world champion turned trainer and pundit Andy Lee guessed the final devastating shot may have broken his jaw.
