In his latest column, former Olympian and heavyweight contender Frazer Clarke gives his side of the story after purse bids for his British title fight against Fabio Wardley were pulled at the last minute last week.
Upset, frustrated and angry
This week, I have been dealing with the fallout from what happened with the purse bids for the Fabio Wardley fight. As everyone now knows, the bidding process never happened.
It was deeply distressing, and I can’t lie, I was very upset at first. Upset, frustrated and angry because I wanted that fight for the British title so badly. In the last week or so, emotions have run high.
I am still disappointed it is not happening, but I have looked at it from all the different angles. Everything happens for a reason and I hope something good will come out of this situation. It will take something bigger than this to derail me.
Guarantees over my future
I’ve had lots of phone calls, lots of meetings, a lot of things explained to me and lots of things guaranteed to me for the future.
I’m not getting the fight I wanted but I am listening to the experienced heads around me and I know that this fight will happen at the right time and when it is at its biggest. After the meetings I’ve had I am very confident that I will have a massive fight before the end of this year.
I hope people realise and believe that I truly wanted this fight with every bone in my body. My biggest argument during the process, other than of course wanting to fight for the British title, is I don’t want to be seen as a man that pulls out of fights.
I have written in this column about the big boys at the top of the division and them picking and choosing fights. I am not in that bracket. A lot of people say it is down to the fighter, the fighter controls everything.
To an extent, they are right. But what I have learnt in this pro game so far, particularly on the business side of things is that there are other factors to consider outside of just stepping in the ring.
I have people invested in me that want me to reach my maximum potential in my career and we all have to be sure that the right fights are taken at the right time for me and the people around me.
That being said, I refuse to come out of this situation with me saying I didn’t want to fight. I am a fighting man and I wanted this fight desperately so the people around me sometimes have to be the bad guys and save me from myself.
I know I win the British title inside six rounds when this fight happens, but I have to be properly prepared for the chance it goes into the championship rounds and so I listened to the advice of my promoter and broadcaster.
I am going to trust them and the guarantees I have been given going forward will soften the blow. It sounds like it is going to still be a very few exciting few months ahead.
Making the best of the situation
Anyone that knows me knows I am an emotional person and I can act off of instinct. I have been known to flare up which I did during some of those conversations.
I have good people around me, a good family and after speaking to people I trust in the sport, I was convinced that this result is the best outcome out of what I saw as bad situation. I understand this is just the start of my career and one day my capturing of the British title will be a proud footnote on a much bigger journey to greater things.
It has given me a new look on it all. Yes, the disappointment is there but we have got a new strategical plan now to carry out together. As a prize fighter, it’s been suggested these people have lost me a lot of money. That’s understandable, but I’m due to earn a lot more. There are good guarantees there and they have left me in a good place.
Moving forward, I am still set to fight on 16 June against Marius Wach, an experienced former world title challenger who will give me good rounds in the bank.
My deepest hope is we can still make the deal happen with Fabio Wardley and we can get that fight back towards the end of the year. It is still a massive fight and it has probably been made even bigger by all this controversy. But either way, there are big fights out there for me and we will land one before the end of the year.
It has been a strange one, but for now, we focus on 16 June and Marius Wach. Nothing else matters apart from me putting on a dominant and impressive performance.
Weekend predictions
I can’t believe I am saying this because once upon time he was the absolute best. But I fear a bit for Vasiliy Lomachenko up against Devin Haney on Saturday night.
He is of course still a great fighter, a three-weight world champion and one of the best of his generation.
But I just think his size will be an issue, I just don’t think he is big enough up against Haney who is very big for the weight.
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I hope he can do it but I think Haney’s size advantage could play a big part.
It’s also the big homecoming night for Katie Taylor in Dublin. Becoming undisputed in a second division back on home soil, it’s almost written in the stars for her.
But I do think Chantelle Cameron will cause her problems. I think there could be an upset on the cards and she can spoil that party.
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