Former world champion and Sky Sports expert Jonny Nelson explains why he thinks a loss would hurt Fraser Clarke more than Fabio Wardley. Watch the Wardley vs Clarke British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship fight live sky sports on sunday
by Johnny Nelson, boxing expert and columnist
6:15, UK, Monday 25 March 2024
Fabio Wardley vs. Fraser Clarke is a great domestic match. I haven't seen anything like this in a long time.
I'm talking about Frank Bruno-Lennox Lewis, I'm talking about Gary Mason-Lennox.
It's been a while since we've seen such an even fight for the British heavyweight title. I love this fight. I think it's a great battle. I think it's going to be a tough fight with a lot of lives at stake for both fighters.
Olympic bronze medalist Anthony Ogogo has backed Fraser Clarke against Fabio Wardley and believes Anthony Joshua needs to fight Tyson Fury “sooner rather than later”.
The loser must go back and lick his wounds. Now he has two scenarios. As far as Fabio Wardley is concerned, he is just a white collar boxer who turned professional. I don't think any loss will hurt as much for him as Fraser Clarke, even if it hurt his professional pride.
Fraser Clarke has represented his country many times as an amateur. He's sparred with some of the top fighters who are world title contenders, and he's sparred with everyone Frazier has stepped into the ring with, rubbed shoulders with, or trained with. The only thing is that it's not public.
Fraser Clarke has infuriated Fabio Wardley's Ipswich fan base who attended the match at Portman Road ahead of their big British title fight.
I'm going to go with Frazier to win this fight. I think Fraser Clark has more technical gunnery, insight and understanding. The only thing Frazier lacks in this fight is professional experience. Everything else he has.
Professional experience – I'm talking about rounds under his belt. I'm talking about this kind of stage where people are now divided and making decisions about who wins and who loses. It's part of the professional game. You must be able to accept criticism as well as praise.
This isn't just a physical problem, it's also a mental problem for Fraser. He has a lot to lose in terms of trust on his shoulders. He has more to lose.
I always say that in professional fights where so much is at stake, one loss means nothing. But for Fraser, I think that would hurt him a lot, I think that's the problem. Career-wise, I think if he can work at it and work at it with the same intensity, he can get his career back on track even if he loses.
Johnny Nelson has explained why Fabio Wardley vs. Fraser Clarke reminds him of an “old-school” heavyweight fight.
But personally, I think this is going to hurt him so much that he's going to have a really hard time getting over it for a few years until he gets a decent scalp again as a professional.
in gloves are off If anyone ever wore anyone's skin, it's what Fabio did to Big Fraser. He said all the right things and made all the right points. Fraser just needed to stand his ground and say I know I may have put up less of a fight than you, but when the bell rings, tell me what it means. Let's look at.
What impressed me about Fabio was the way he handled pressure. He was cool and calm. I think Fraser was more annoyed at having to argue with this white-collar combatant. He's in this position where he has to sit and argue with these guys who don't even have their amateur pedigree laced up.
Fabio Wardley talks about his side's clash with domestic rivals Fraser Clarke at Ipswich Town's Portman Road home ground.
But he must also respect what Fabio has achieved professionally. That's a double-edged sword. He finds it hard that he has to be humble as an amateur to this guy who hasn't done anything to get to this point. But he must respect him.
In Fabio's position, I have played against people with proven track records and experience.
He fought 13 times as an amateur. He only won three games. However, when he turned professional, he boxed against national champions and defeated them. I boxed with guys who were representing my country and beat them.
When you win against a player who has done that, you start to believe in yourself even more. That's what Fabio is aiming for. In formal terms, he's actually defeating people who should never have been defeated. That's why his confidence is so high.
Don't miss Fabio Wardley vs. Fraser Clarke live sky sports on Sunday, March 31st.
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