Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke II | PPV - 12 October 2024

[golden_labrador]

Fraser Clarkes injury

being a guy that spent 37 years as an anaesthetic practitioner in operating theatres all over the world....i could see that Clarke had a depressed fractured zygoma, this bone can be elevated back into position with a relatively short GA without metalwork being needed to hold it in position. His physical recovery will be relatively quick (6 weeks) but his mental recovery will be the issue. I think Big Fraze should hang them up, if he cant lead the pack at British level then he hasnt got enough time left to do anything in the sport now.

Big Fraze comes across well on tv, he is knowledgeable and insightful and good on the mic. Thats the direction his career should head in now. he has an olympic medal in the locker which is not too shabby and will have earned decent coin for last nights fight.

As for Fabio, its very interesting. My opinion is that he is now knocking on the door of fringe world level but he is unproven above top domestic level. He now needs to fight a fellow gatekeeper 'name' that knows how to lose. My advice would be to feed either Chisora, Joyce, Whyte, Ortiz or Takam to him. Wardley should put any of them away if he is going to the next level. Then he will be ready for the big boys.

Wardley-Chisora for Derek's final farewell

[Wales]

Hasn't Clarke done some punditry in the past? I think that could be the future for him. He's likeable and last night was a horrifying KO. I would hate to see him take any more damage.

Agree with this.

Hopefully he has looked after the money he’s made or has a succession plan already in place. I read his purse last weekend was $350,000, circa £268,000 (take off tax at call it 40%) leaves around £161,000 before trainer, manager and expenses deductions.

Guessing around £120k “take home”

[Wales]

Hasn't Clarke done some punditry in the past? I think that could be the future for him. He's likeable and last night was a horrifying KO. I would hate to see him take any more damage.

Agree with this.

Hopefully he has looked after the money he’s made or has a succession plan already in place. I read his purse last weekend was $350,000, circa £268,000 (take off tax at call it 40%) leaves around £161,000 before trainer, manager and expenses deductions.

Guessing around £120k “take home”

Punditry is generally no more than a few quid here and there. Plus I know first hand Sky Sports focus on the credibility of the pundits on the panel. Putting it bluntly will the viewers respect the opinion of a guy who was KOd in one round and never won a British title?

A very well respected and well liked former sky boxing pundit lost his comeback fight following a loss in a WBC world title eliminator. Sky “suggested” he retire as a third loss in a row would “damage his credibility as a pundit on their platform”. He then retired .

[Coco]

Agree with this.

Hopefully he has looked after the money he’s made or has a succession plan already in place. I read his purse last weekend was $350,000, circa £268,000 (take off tax at call it 40%) leaves around £161,000 before trainer, manager and expenses deductions.

Guessing around £120k “take home”

Punditry is generally no more than a few quid here and there. Plus I know first hand Sky Sports focus on the credibility of the pundits on the panel. Putting it bluntly will the viewers respect the opinion of a guy who was KOd in one round and never won a British title?

A very well respected and well liked former sky boxing pundit lost his comeback fight following a loss in a WBC world title eliminator. Sky “suggested” he retire as a third loss in a row would “damage his credibility as a pundit on their platform”. He then retired .

Never did Nicky Piper any harm!

But you are right, it's no full time job

I'm surprised his purse was that low, I would have guessed double that

[Wales]

Hopefully he has looked after the money he’s made or has a succession plan already in place. I read his purse last weekend was $350,000, circa £268,000 (take off tax at call it 40%) leaves around £161,000 before trainer, manager and expenses deductions.

Guessing around £120k “take home”

Punditry is generally no more than a few quid here and there. Plus I know first hand Sky Sports focus on the credibility of the pundits on the panel. Putting it bluntly will the viewers respect the opinion of a guy who was KOd in one round and never won a British title?

A very well respected and well liked former sky boxing pundit lost his comeback fight following a loss in a WBC world title eliminator. Sky “suggested” he retire as a third loss in a row would “damage his credibility as a pundit on their platform”. He then retired .

Never did Nicky Piper any harm!

But you are right, it's no full time job

I'm surprised his purse was that low, I would have guessed double that

Reportedly Wardley $500k Clarke $350k

Piper fought for world title 3 times …. But there are exceptions and I guess other attributes they look for.

[Coco]

Punditry is generally no more than a few quid here and there. Plus I know first hand Sky Sports focus on the credibility of the pundits on the panel. Putting it bluntly will the viewers respect the opinion of a guy who was KOd in one round and never won a British title?

A very well respected and well liked former sky boxing pundit lost his comeback fight following a loss in a WBC world title eliminator. Sky “suggested” he retire as a third loss in a row would “damage his credibility as a pundit on their platform”. He then retired .

Never did Nicky Piper any harm!

But you are right, it's no full time job

I'm surprised his purse was that low, I would have guessed double that

Reportedly Wardley $500k Clarke $350k

Piper fought for world title 3 times …. But there are exceptions and I guess other attributes they look for.

In fairness that's good money for a British title fight.

Folk saying that Eubank turned down 5 mil to fight Sheeraz must be well wide of the mark.

FW must be telling porkies

[CaptainSpacerod]

In fairness that's good money for a British title fight.

Folk saying that Eubank turned down 5 mil to fight Sheeraz must be well wide of the mark.

FW must be telling porkies

Apparently they offered Janibek $1.5m and he's a beltholder

Obviously Eubank's a bigger name in the UK but they wouldn't have offered him anywhere near that if he has no belt to bring to the table

[Wales]

In fairness that's good money for a British title fight.

Folk saying that Eubank turned down 5 mil to fight Sheeraz must be well wide of the mark.

FW must be telling porkies

Apparently they offered Janibek $1.5m and he's a beltholder

Obviously Eubank's a bigger name in the UK but they wouldn't have offered him anywhere near that if he has no belt to bring to the table

Huge money for Janibek there as his purse for his next fight is $262,000… $1.5m is 6 times as much! Should snap their hand off !

[Wales]

Never did Nicky Piper any harm!

But you are right, it's no full time job

I'm surprised his purse was that low, I would have guessed double that

Reportedly Wardley $500k Clarke $350k

Piper fought for world title 3 times …. But there are exceptions and I guess other attributes they look for.

In fairness that's good money for a British title fight.

Folk saying that Eubank turned down 5 mil to fight Sheeraz must be well wide of the mark.

FW must be telling porkies

At 35 he’d be crazy to turn down £5m to fight Sheeraz who’s unproven at his perceived level yet accept £1m (plus the smaller 40% of PPV sales) to fight Smith who’d just KOd him.

[mickey1975]

Steve Bunce said the money was massive and he thought it would be more than AJ got for Whyte for the British title. It can't have been similar to DeGale v Groves 13 years ago.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Clarke back in UK after surgery on broken jaw

Heavyweight Frazer Clarke has had surgery on his jaw and cheekbone following his first-round stoppage loss to Fabio Wardley in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

The 33-year-old was taken to hospital after suffering a fracture high on his jaw in their British title fight.

Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom said Clarke underwent "minor" surgery in Riyadh on Sunday. He landed back in the United Kingdom on Monday morning.

"He's feeling more motivated than ever to come back bigger and better in the new year," Shalom told Sky Sports.

Clarke, a 2020 Olympic bronze medallist, lost for the first time as a pro as Wardley, 29, retained his British title at the Kingdom Arena.

In a rematch of March's fight of the year contender which ended in a draw, Wardley hurt Clarke with a strong right hand in the first round after a flurry of punches.

Clarke rose to his feet but with his jaw visibly out of place, the referee stopped the contest.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I' sure he's a nice guy and everything.. but I just never saw the potential.

They were trying to make a new AJ..

I was never impressed.. at 33, let's see what he can do..

If he was in his 20's, id say, stick around.

But i'm not one to say he should retire.

[Wales]

They were trying to make a new AJ..

Never going to happen. Im sure Shalom WANTED to make a new AJ - but Clarke was NEVER going to be built into that.
AJ came out of the biggest Olympics in UK history with a gold medal at 21/22. He had the look, the power, was on the news, in the papers, on talk shows and had the full promotional power of both Hearn and SKY behind him.

The fact Clarke failed to qualify for London Olympics due to AJ in 2012, then failed to qualify for Rio in 2016 due to joe Joyce indicates ehe was never going to be anywhere the next AJ. When he did qualify he won a bronze which doesn’t capture the imagination of the masses.

After London everyone knew AJs name … even now if shown a photograph I doubt many people in the street would be able to name him.

[Wales]

Clark v Johnny Fisher (providing he beats Dave Allen )

[mickey1975]

Hopefully he has looked after the money he’s made or has a succession plan already in place. I read his purse last weekend was $350,000, circa £268,000 (take off tax at call it 40%) leaves around £161,000 before trainer, manager and expenses deductions.

Guessing around £120k “take home”

Punditry is generally no more than a few quid here and there. Plus I know first hand Sky Sports focus on the credibility of the pundits on the panel. Putting it bluntly will the viewers respect the opinion of a guy who was KOd in one round and never won a British title?

A very well respected and well liked former sky boxing pundit lost his comeback fight following a loss in a WBC world title eliminator. Sky “suggested” he retire as a third loss in a row would “damage his credibility as a pundit on their platform”. He then retired .

Never did Nicky Piper any harm!

But you are right, it's no full time job

I'm surprised his purse was that low, I would have guessed double that

Fisher has said he's getting more than double what he'd have got in London for Dave Allen so you'd have to guess those figures are low.

[JamesPhilips]

Fraser Clarkes injury

being a guy that spent 37 years as an anaesthetic practitioner in operating theatres all over the world....i could see that Clarke had a depressed fractured zygoma, this bone can be elevated back into position with a relatively short GA without metalwork being needed to hold it in position. His physical recovery will be relatively quick (6 weeks) but his mental recovery will be the issue. I think Big Fraze should hang them up, if he cant lead the pack at British level then he hasnt got enough time left to do anything in the sport now.

Big Fraze comes across well on tv, he is knowledgeable and insightful and good on the mic. Thats the direction his career should head in now. he has an olympic medal in the locker which is not too shabby and will have earned decent coin for last nights fight.

As for Fabio, its very interesting. My opinion is that he is now knocking on the door of fringe world level but he is unproven above top domestic level. He now needs to fight a fellow gatekeeper 'name' that knows how to lose. My advice would be to feed either Chisora, Joyce, Whyte, Ortiz or Takam to him. Wardley should put any of them away if he is going to the next level. Then he will be ready for the big boys.

Wardley-Chisora for Derek's final farewell

Do you want to see Chisora badly hurt?!

[JamesPhilips]

They were trying to make a new AJ..

Never going to happen. Im sure Shalom WANTED to make a new AJ - but Clarke was NEVER going to be built into that.
AJ came out of the biggest Olympics in UK history with a gold medal at 21/22. He had the look, the power, was on the news, in the papers, on talk shows and had the full promotional power of both Hearn and SKY behind him.

The fact Clarke failed to qualify for London Olympics due to AJ in 2012, then failed to qualify for Rio in 2016 due to joe Joyce indicates ehe was never going to be anywhere the next AJ. When he did qualify he won a bronze which doesn’t capture the imagination of the masses.

After London everyone knew AJs name … even now if shown a photograph I doubt many people in the street would be able to name him.

It’s quite clear that Shalom knows next to nothing on boxing. He’s overpaid for average fighters, invested loads in women fighters who make no money or ticket sales….. who’s he’s got who could go big now? Bad weekend for him - Massey and Clarke brutalised and Ben Quittaker shown up majorly. Azeez failed at top level too. Marku predictably beaten. CBS in deep water and if he wins gets battered by Opetaia.
Martin Bakole has potential to earn as he’s a big hitting heavyweight but will never be a Fury / AJ and needs a shot at the world title.

Adam Azim seems the only one with star potential.

[Bodyshot3]

Hopefully he has looked after the money he’s made or has a succession plan already in place. I read his purse last weekend was $350,000, circa £268,000 (take off tax at call it 40%) leaves around £161,000 before trainer, manager and expenses deductions.

Guessing around £120k “take home”

With a bit of luck Frazer's earnings will be well outside HMRC's clutches and big percentage cut
The poor guy deserves to keep as much as he can.

It was not a UK event and technically it is up to the Saudi's to apply any domestic earnings tax, and as Fraze is not a Saudi citizen or even domiciled there, he should be fine unless he puts it straight back into his UK bank account and is therefore liable to the annual earnings-related tax bill down the line.

I think this might actually be why the Saudis are getting these huge fights beyond the big, upfront purses and overall willingness to cover loads of venue/travel/accomodation costs. They're also appealing to the fighters direct.

They're possibly playing the old Monaco trick of being a tax-free venue for the fighters who can keep way more of their purses, even if the income is maybe not so accessible as sitting right there in the Nationwide or Lloyds.

[tony1234]

They were trying to make a new AJ..

Never going to happen. Im sure Shalom WANTED to make a new AJ - but Clarke was NEVER going to be built into that.
AJ came out of the biggest Olympics in UK history with a gold medal at 21/22. He had the look, the power, was on the news, in the papers, on talk shows and had the full promotional power of both Hearn and SKY behind him.

The fact Clarke failed to qualify for London Olympics due to AJ in 2012, then failed to qualify for Rio in 2016 due to joe Joyce indicates ehe was never going to be anywhere the next AJ. When he did qualify he won a bronze which doesn’t capture the imagination of the masses.

After London everyone knew AJs name … even now if shown a photograph I doubt many people in the street would be able to name him.

It’s quite clear that Shalom knows next to nothing on boxing. He’s overpaid for average fighters, invested loads in women fighters who make no money or ticket sales….. who’s he’s got who could go big now? Bad weekend for him - Massey and Clarke brutalised and Ben Quittaker shown up majorly. Azeez failed at top level too. Marku predictably beaten. CBS in deep water and if he wins gets battered by Opetaia.
Martin Bakole has potential to earn as he’s a big hitting heavyweight but will never be a Fury / AJ and needs a shot at the world title.

Adam Azim seems the only one with star potential.

Plus Okolie and Riakporhe must have been on substantial contracts for little or no return . Olympic gold medallists once meant something now they're so common that their value is worthless

[Ruthless-RKO]

Never going to happen. Im sure Shalom WANTED to make a new AJ - but Clarke was NEVER going to be built into that.
AJ came out of the biggest Olympics in UK history with a gold medal at 21/22. He had the look, the power, was on the news, in the papers, on talk shows and had the full promotional power of both Hearn and SKY behind him.

The fact Clarke failed to qualify for London Olympics due to AJ in 2012, then failed to qualify for Rio in 2016 due to joe Joyce indicates ehe was never going to be anywhere the next AJ. When he did qualify he won a bronze which doesn’t capture the imagination of the masses.

After London everyone knew AJs name … even now if shown a photograph I doubt many people in the street would be able to name him.

It’s quite clear that Shalom knows next to nothing on boxing. He’s overpaid for average fighters, invested loads in women fighters who make no money or ticket sales….. who’s he’s got who could go big now? Bad weekend for him - Massey and Clarke brutalised and Ben Quittaker shown up majorly. Azeez failed at top level too. Marku predictably beaten. CBS in deep water and if he wins gets battered by Opetaia.
Martin Bakole has potential to earn as he’s a big hitting heavyweight but will never be a Fury / AJ and needs a shot at the world title.

Adam Azim seems the only one with star potential.

Plus Okolie and Riakporhe must have been on substantial contracts for little or no return . Olympic gold medallists once meant something now they're so common that their value is worthless

He has Buatsi and Yarde too.

So he has that one to play.

No world title involved.

Should not be PPV either.

[cormack]

Your jaw is never right after it is bust.

Normally the last two fight are enough for the promoter to break the contract.

Wonder if Shalom will keep him on

opetai is managing well enough .......

[cormack]

Clarke will be back I reckon - wont want that to be his last fight especially how it ended .

Clarke v Adele for the vacant english title as Fabio is moving on to higher levels .

[JamesPhilips]

It’s quite clear that Shalom knows next to nothing on boxing. He’s overpaid for average fighters, invested loads in women fighters who make no money or ticket sales….. who’s he’s got who could go big now? Bad weekend for him - Massey and Clarke brutalised and Ben Quittaker shown up majorly. Azeez failed at top level too. Marku predictably beaten. CBS in deep water and if he wins gets battered by Opetaia.
Martin Bakole has potential to earn as he’s a big hitting heavyweight but will never be a Fury / AJ and needs a shot at the world title.

Adam Azim seems the only one with star potential.

Plus Okolie and Riakporhe must have been on substantial contracts for little or no return . Olympic gold medallists once meant something now they're so common that their value is worthless

He has Buatsi and Yarde too.

So he has that one to play.

No world title involved.

Should not be PPV either.

Buatsi and Yarde will never be superstars and are in their 30s

[Coco]

Your jaw is never right after it is bust.

Normally the last two fight are enough for the promoter to break the contract.

Wonder if Shalom will keep him on

opetai is managing well enough .......

True that, but he is so good that he doesn't get hit back much.
However the way to take a good shot is to really bite down on your gumshield and clench.
Difficult to do well after your jaw has been broke, some fighters can barely do it at all.

[samwbr]

What is the issue with Fabios gloves?