Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke: Too Soon for British Boxing?

Boxing records are seen very differently by different cultures around the world. In the US, a record with a loss on it almost immediately downgrades the pugilist if they haven’t yet become a big-money draw, and that attitude has rubbed off on British boxing fans in the past.

On the flip side, a loss is seen elsewhere as a part of the sport when anyone happens to face someone of higher skill, which is admirable. Still, there isn’t any denying that, particularly in the heavyweight division, the American audience can provide a hefty payday, and keeping an undefeated record when jumping into the US helps a lot.

As such, there’s a debate to be had whether Fabio Wardley meeting Frazer Clarke this early is wise for British boxing.

Favouring the younger boxer

There’s a bit of drama being drummed up for this rumble, so the best place to look for an objective viewpoint is the oddsmakers. Ulasan 1xBet has made quite the name for itself thanks to its competitive odds and welcome bonus, as well as its coverage of most popular sports.

With a 100 per cent match on the first deposit of up to $130 with the code, it’s clear that the platform can throw its weight around. In amongst the range of comprehensive sports betting features are stacks of boxing odds, which for this fight points to Wardley being the 1.44 favourite to Clarke’s 2.97, while a draw sits at 19.0.

In fairness, Wardley does enter with a lot more professional boxing experience, going 17-0 with 16 knockouts since the 6’5’’ Ipswich pugilist’s 2017 debut. Clarke, an Olympic bronze medallist, is at 8-0 with six by way of knockout, but overall, the 6’6’’ man from Staffordshire has roughly matched the level of opposition as his 31 March foe.

Being built up as a big rivalry match between two of Britain’s top up-and-coming heavyweights, one of them will see their record tarnished. For spectators, it’s great to see such a clash come to fruition, getting close rivals meet for “just” the British and Commonwealth straps under the UK’s Boxxer promotion, but there is the downside of a loss.

Is it too soon for this match?

Originally, the fight was to go ahead on 13 April last year, leading to some heated words being shared between Boxxer, Matchroom head Eddie Hearn, and the promotion’s up-and-coming heavyweight, Wardley. So, we have some additional drama and intrigue going into what’s already a clash between two of the country’s top prospects.

As a result, we’re looking at a big and exciting event that will draw in plenty of British boxing fans. Thinking about the match in this way, it’s clear that it absolutely should go ahead. On the flip side, it’ll put a chip on the record of two boxers who, given a bit more time, could even go for world honours with undefeated records.

So, should they both have been a bit more protected – as they do in other countries – or is a local rivalry the best thing for the sport and the boxers? We could look to the 2020 bout that The Guardian covered between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce.

Both entered undefeated with high hopes for them to shoot for world titles, but Dubois bowing out in ten rounds proved that he wasn’t ready for such an occasion. He’s building back up and was even given an eyebrow-raising shot as Oleksandr Usyk’s belts after Joyce lost to Zhilei Zhang, but the 26-year-old likely would have been better off with more experience before such a rumble.

Boxers always have a chance to build back up to bigger and better things, and while it’s admirable that British boxing pushes leading contenders into the ring, some will think that preserving marketable records is better.