FABIO Wardley made an explosive statement by stopping heavyweight rival Frazer Clarke in one round to retain his British, Commonwealth and WBA Continental heavyweight titles.
It was a tentative chess match until Wardley landed a cuffing right hand that hurt Clarke. The man from Burton-on-Trent could not gather his senses in time to recover as Wardley manhandled his opponent, pushing him into range for huge bombs. Each one landed with ferocity as Clarke showed the physical signs of damage.
Referee Victor Loughlin correctly called it off as Clarke sat prone in the corner, unable to rise. Wardley will now cast his eye on the world scene as his record improves to 18-0-1 (17). Former Olympian Clarke’s career is in a real mess as he drops to 8-1-1 (6).
“I always know, once I hurt someone, I can get rid of them,” said the winner.
“I went into the first fight with a couple of issues. We got the gameplan right [here] and executed. Sometimes wars are needed, and sometimes brains are needed. We just needed to be a little bit sweeter and disguise things a bit better.”
