In his latest column, former Olympian and heavyweight contender Frazer Clarke looks back on a brutal training camp as he prepares to go with war with Fabio Wardley again in their British heavyweight title rematch.
Long, tough fight camp will be worth it
We are seven days out from my British and Commonwealth title rematch with Fabio Wardley. While Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol are heading the show in Saudi Arabia, we are going to steal it. After our draw last time out, I’m going to make sure it’s my hand that is raised at the end of the night.
Leading into the first fight in March, I knew it would be one of the toughest camps of my life. There were some dark weeks and this time around it has been the same, if not worse. Having to do it all again, you go harder.
There are good days and bad days but you have to come through it all knowing everything you do is for one purpose and that is to walk out the winner. Everything is an experience, the good, the bad and everything in between. Everything is making me a better fighter and a better athlete.
I’m in my element in the ring
Fabio was the champion last March and no one gave me a chance. I absolutely loved that. I will be putting myself as the underdog again. This guy thinks he is better than me, a lot of people think that was a one off, that he had a bad day and I had a good day. But I will be proving them wrong.
There is one thing about me; when it comes to being in that ring and having a fight, that is where I come alive. That’s my element. No matter what happened last time, I know the work I have put in and I know I am even better than before.
I’m trying not to sound like a boring old man here, but all the press conference stuff, the interviews, the media stuff, all the talking… it is a load of b******s. We can talk until we are blue in the face but it’s about a fight.
Mistake in first fight
Looking back on the first fight, I suffered that knockdown in the fifth round but it didn’t cause problems for me. It was great pressure from Fabio I will give him that, but a mistake from me. But I got up and carried on and I won rounds after that. It wasn’t a heavy knockdown, it didn’t change the fight, it didn’t shape the fight. But it was a mistake on my part so we have to rectify that.
To be honest, I do not give a s**t about what Fabio does now. There has been a lot of respect since the first fight. He gained my respect but the reality is, the closer we get to fight night the more I am looking forward to smashing him in his face.
Did that night take something out of Fabio? I don’t know. People ask did it take anything out from me? I don’t know who they think I am. I have been ready to go a long time.
The reality is, I was ready to go a week after the first fight. We are fighters. We are half super human. We get on with it. It might have taken a lot out of him. It did that to me on the night, but I recovered.
A lot of the time the media over-dramatise things. Yeah, it was a war. Yeah, we bashed each other up. Fabio had a little cut on his nose with a bit of blood pouring. That’s how it goes in this game. It was a bit of blood. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I have had a bloody nose or a cut on my face. It’s the most normal thing in the world in this life.
It’s sacrifice but after coming so close last March, it will all be worth it next weekend.
