Frazer Clarke Has Surgery After Wardley KO
Frazer Clarke has undergone surgery following his knockout loss to Fabio Wardley.
They faced off in their rematch on the Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol card, which headlined for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship. The co-main event clash was a rematch of their first fight around six months ago. That ended in controversial circumstances. The fight was declared a split draw as Clarke got off the canvas in the fourth round and overcame a low blow to take it to the scorecards. The rematch, however, was much more decisive.
Clarke came into the ring as the much heavier man, weighing in over 270 pounds compared to Wardley, who was in the 240-pound range. But Wardley showed just what he was made of, immediately going on the offensive. A right and a left backed up Clarke. Two more right hands followed, which ended the bout.
Clarke was left shaken in the corner, as pictures would later show a dent in the side of his cheek. Clark’s jaw appeared to be out of place. He has since then undergone surgery. His promoter, Ben Shalom, has confirmed that the surgery has gone well. The British Boxing Board of Control Chief Medical Officer, Neil Scott, likened the punch to that of being hit with a brick.
Clarke’s Injury
“I’m a maxillofacial surgeon in the NHS and, typically, those kind of injuries are caused by bricks. “With the size of the glove it’s not something we see in boxing,” Scott
“Frazer successfully underwent minor surgery. He’s feeling well and rested and will head back to the UK this evening to further recover with his family,” Shalom
This naturally raises question marks over where the two boxes go next. Wardley is likely to target a title shot moving forward. However, the bells are currently tied up. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will rematch on December 21 for three of the belts. Meanwhile, Daniel Dubois holds the IBF belt, which he defended successfully after knocking out Anthony Joshua.
That has put him in a position to face the winner of Fury and Usyk for the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship. Dubois also has the chance to rematch Joshua in a lucrative bout next year. That leaves Wardley with some time before he gets a title shot. He is likely to stay active, with potential fights against other domestic heavyweights on the table.
What’s Next?
He could box Joe Joyce, who is coming off a loss against Derek Chisora. Joyce does not look like the same fighter since he was stopped by Zhilei Zhang in consecutive fights. There is also the opportunity to face Chisora himself. Chisora confirmed that he will retire after his 50th fight. He has just had his 48th fight after beating Joyce, leaving him with two fights before he bows out. There is also the potential to face Johnny Fisher.
Fisher is a big ticket seller and has a huge fan base, which would make that fight sell out. It would also be Fisher’s biggest test of his career whilst giving Wardley a chance at another domestic heavyweight clash. As for Clarke, the injury is likely to keep him out for a prolonged period of time. Clarke was seen as the rising British heavyweight following his bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But this devastating loss will set him back. While he may chase a trilogy in the future, it is very difficult to see how he could return from such a brutal knockout loss.
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
