BN Preview: Wardley vs. Clarke is an Easter treat

ACCORDING to the New Testament of the Holy Bible, Easter Sunday was the day of Jesus Christ’s resurrection following his crucifixion by the Romans on Good Friday. It is the day, the Bible says, that ‘death is swallowed up in victory’.

To mark the occasion this year, Boxxer have decided to stage one of the best top-to-bottom cards in their promotional existence. And, let’s be perfectly honest, It’s a bold move on a public holiday.

Even so, the claim is that more than 10,000 have already decided to detach themselves from their Cadburys and postpone the roast lamb in favour of buying a ticket for the o2 Arena to see it. Anyone who has done so is in for a treat.

At the top of the tight, six-fight card is the long-awaited heavyweight showdown between British champion Fabio Wardley and his fellow undefeated big man Frazer Clarke. These two were famously subject to the Purse Bid Gate scandal, when Boxxer pulled Clarke out of the bid to face Wardley for the Lonsdale belt, much to his personal chagrin.

Nearly a year has passed since then and both men have rolled on undefeated. For Wardley, that meant a very impressive seventh-round stoppage of David Adeleye in what was the first defence of his title. Clarke, meanwhile, had 10 worthwhile rounds against Mariusz Wach then stopped Dave Allen.

Now the pair will finally face each other in a fight which pits a man with absolutely zero amateur experience against one of the longest serving members of the unpaid ranks of his generation, a stint which included nearly three full Olympic cycles.

“A lot could be made about that when you’re telling the story of the fight,” Wardley told Boxing News. “But the reality is, I don’t think it’s that important. We have both experienced different things in boxing and we both know how to handle ourselves in the ring. What this will come down to is who prepared best and who can put it into practice on the night. What happened in the past is not a big factor.”

Even so, the contrasting backgrounds makes this a difficult one to pick. All logic would suggest it is the pedigree of Clarke which will prevail over the former white collar boxer in Wardley. But the 29-year-old Ipswich man has had far more professional experience than his opponent. He has also chalked up the more notable wins in the pros than Clarke, who made light work of his overmatched opponents early on and then did the business when the standard rose gradually too.

With all that said, it is difficult to see this going the full 12. All but one of Wardley’s 17 wins have ended early while Clarke has six knockouts from eight. Wardley has been known to start slowly at times which may give Clarke an early opening but that’s a big if. Both men will undoubtedly have their moments but Wardley to end a classic fight in the final quarter is the pick.

The chief support is another grudge match with Sheffield based Albanian Florian Marku facing London’s Chris Kongo at welterweight. Marku has had just one minute of action in 18 months – a 54-second blowout of Dylan Moran to be precise – while Kongo enters the fight off the back of a razor-close majority decision defeat to Ekow Essuman in January of last year. It is impossible to predict whether either man will be affected by ring rust but this looks like a classic style match up of the slick Kongo skills and the pressure and power of Marku.

The Albanian southpaw, who trains under Grant Smith in Sheffield, has stoppage wins over the likes of Rylan Charlton and Chris Jenkins and he seems like the most likely of the two here to end this one early. Kongo has just one stoppage in nearly six years but if he can use his feet and land in flurries he can run away with this on the cards over the course of the 10 rounds. That seems like the most likely scenario here.

Another man who might have to shake off a little bit of ring rust is heavyweight Alen Babic, who is boxing for the first time since he was stopped in a round at bridgerweight by Lukasz Rozanski last April. The Croatian faces Newcastle’s 6-2 Steve ‘Drago’ Robinson over 10 here.

Robinson’s two career defeats have come in his last four fights and he enters this one off the back of an eight-round points loss to Franklin Ignatius in Newcastle in July. However, the chances of this one requiring scoring by anybody seem incredibly slim. Expect a rejuvenated Babic to find a way through in the middle rounds.

There is also an excellent cruiserweight clash between undefeated Viddal Riley and the former British champ Mikael Lawal, who lost his title to Isaac Chamberlain in his last outing. Riley is 26 years old, 10-0 (6) and has been hailed as a future star of the division but Lawal will provide a perfect barometer for where he is really at.

The Lagos-born Londoner was disappointing on the night against Chamberlain in October but before that had cruised to the pinnacle of the domestic scene with relative ease. We will learn a lot about what Riley is really made of – and what might become of Lawal’s career – over the course of these 10 rounds. Riley decision is the pick.

In the card’s other 10 rounder, Barnsley’s Callum Simpson takes on 34-13-1 Dulla Mbabe of Tanzania. If Simpson comes through unscathed, a challenge for Zak Chelli’s British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles could be next.

Finally, in the card’s only eight-rounder, Ben Whittaker will look to continue his march towards the top of the light-heavyweight division when he takes on Central Area champion Leon Willings.

Whittaker has divided opinion with his showboating but there is no denying his class. He is 6-0 with five quick and his style has marked him out as one of the most talked about boxers in Britain. Willings, though, will arrive from Widnes with ambition. At only 23 years old he knows he could alter the course of his entire life with an upset here.

The Verdict – Yet another terrific matchup for a British title atop a very enticing bill.