Suffolk's Fabio Wardley defends his British heavyweight title against Frazer Clarke in a much-anticipated rematch in Saudi Arabia tonight. Mark Heath previews the big fight...
After some confusion about the running order of the fight card, it appears that Wardley/Clarke 2 will indeed serve as the co-main event to the huge undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between unbeaten duo Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol.
The event is being held in Riyadh, with the ring walks for the main event expected around 11pm GMT. I'm told that the Wardley camp are expecting their ring walk around an hour earlier than that, so 10pm our time.
A word of warning though. Fight cards in Saudi tend to run later than advertised - we saw the Deontay Wider and Zhilei Zhang main event ring walks at gone 1am GMT in the last big card to be held in Riyadh, so be prepared to wait!
The undercard itself is expected to start at 7pm GMT.
You can watch the fight live across a number of PPV platforms, with Sky Sports, DAZN and TNT Sports all screening the event for £19.99. I'll also be bringing you live coverage on our websites.
Wardley and Clarke first faced off in the main event of a packed card at the O2 Arena on Easter Sunday, and it was an all-time classic British title clash.
In one of the best fights your writer has ever seen live - and I've been ring/cageside for a LOT of fights - the pair simply went to war in breathtaking fashion.
Clarke started fast and probably edged the first four rounds, before Wardley turned the tide by dropping his foe in the fifth, just seconds before the bell.
Clarke was also docked a point for repeated low blows in the seventh round, while both men had their moments down the stretch.
Wardley rocked Clarke several times, but had to battle through a huge gash across the bridge of the nose for the latter rounds, with blood streaming down his face.
When the scorecards were announced - 114-113 Wardley, 115-112 Clarke and 113-113 - a draw felt like the right result. Neither man deserved to lose.
Wardley, 29, is 17-0-1 with 16 knockouts. The fight with Clarke was the first time he's heard the final bell since his debut.
The Ipswich Town-sponsored power puncher stands 6ft 5ins tall and weighed in at 17 stone 3lbs last night.
Clarke, meanwhile is four years older and has less experience in the pro game, with a record of 8-0-1 and six KO's.
He's an inch taller than Wardley though, and weighed in more than two stone heavier than Wardley last night, tipping the scales at 19 stone 5lbs. He'll be the bigger, heavier man again in this fight.
Clarke also has vastly more experience in the unpaid ranks to call upon - while he won the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and had a decorated amateur career, Wardley didn't fight as an amateur at all, and turned pro after just four white collar fights.
The Suffolk star is a rare combination of speed and power in the heavyweight division. He moves like a much smaller man, and throws fast punches and combinations, many from unorthodox angles.
When he lands, his power is proven and devastating. He may not have stopped Clarke last time out, but he has dropped every single opponent to stand across from him.
He also has a warrior's heart, and loves nothing more than going to the dark places you can only find in the blood-soaked confines of a fist fight.
He's been compared to Nigel Benn in terms of being a natural fighter, someone who is never more dangerous than when hurt - as we've seen in his wins over former world title challenger Eric Molina (KO 5th rd), when he won the British title against Nathan Gorman (KO 3rd rd) and in the trenches against Clarke last time out.
Put simply, he never accepts defeat and will always be dangerous because of that frightening power and finishing instincts.
“I’m the younger, fresher fighter," Wardley told the media this week. "There’s more attributes to my game which I can advance and improve on, to bring into this next fight.
“He’s (Clarke) come from that very strong, well-schooled ABA, GB squad background, he’s boxed that same way for a good ten to 15 years, how they taught him to box.”
As already mentioned, Clarke has considerably more pedigree and amateur schooling. We saw that in the first fight, where he started well behind a big jab and likely took the first four rounds with better boxing.
He does everything in textbook style, while Wardley's furious attacks can, at times, look a bit wild.
Clarke also answered any questions about his heart and desire in the first fight, rising from the canvas after that knockdown and surviving a few more scares to be the first fighter to go 12 rounds with Wardley.
He is the better pure boxer of the two, plus the bigger, heavier man. If he can turn this into a boxing match, rather than the brawl it was last time, he'd expect to come out on top.
"I've got a bit more knowledge going into this one," he insisted discussing his preparation. "I've learned to listen to myself and my body a lot more, recovery had to be a lot better than last time.
"But there's no doubt about it, these camps aren't for the faint-hearted, they are really tough - especially when you know what you're going into.
"It wasn't a normal fight last time, it was a brutal fight. And to prepare for a brutal fight you've got to put yourself through brutality, and I've done that.
"It's not been easy, but it's all geared towards putting in a performance on the 12th."
Wardley's been promising a round 13 for all of the build-up to this clash, insinuating he's just going to march across the ring and stick it on Clarke from the opening bell.
As entertaining as that would be, I can't see him being quite as gung-ho. Wardley's traditionally a slow starter, and I can see this fight starting in much the same way as the last, with Clarke building an early lead behind his jab and ringcraft.
He's insisted that Wardley will knock himself out by walking straight onto a big shot, and that is certainly a danger if Fabio isn't intelligent with his attacks.
So, Clarke will want to turn this into a boxing match, one where he keeps Wardley at the end of his shots and avoids the chaos of their first encounter.
The problem is, Wardley will want the exact opposite - and he's shown his ability to flick the switch and turn the tide of a fight with a huge bomb many times.
That, in essence, will be the story of this fight. Can Clarke keep things tidy and technical, with Fabio at the range he wants - or will Wardley make good on his promise to make it a war again, without walking onto a silly shot? When chaos reigns, he is king.
We'll find out tonight. I, for one, can't wait.
Wardley's nose has been the subject of much scrutiny building up to this rematch. We've seen it cut badly a few times now, including in the first fight between the pair.
He sports a lot of scar tissue on the bridge of his nose as a result, and the cut opening up again appears to be a real possibility in the rematch.
Not that Wardley is concerned. “Maybe, maybe not," he said when asked if his nose would be an issue. "Who knows? It’s just blood, it’s not the end of the world. It’s on the bridge of my nose, if it goes, it (blood) goes down my face.
“Last fight it looked so much worse than it actually was. It was just a mixture of water, sweat and obviously blood dripping down my face.
“It wasn’t as dramatic as everyone made out. It was just dripping down my face. It wasn’t in my eyes, I could see perfectly fine and everything was fine.
“So if it goes again then cool, no worries.”
The other potential X-factor here is how Clarke adapts to fighting in Saudi.
Wardley's been there and done it, knocking out bitter rival David Adeleye in the seventh round as chief support to the huge Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou event, which really launched the country as a major player in boxing.
Clarke, though he has vast experience as an amateur, won't have experienced anything quite like this event. Will that faze him or throw him off his game? It feels unlikely, but you never know...
At time of writing, Wardley is the slight favourite at 8/11, according to Oddschecker. Clarke is at 7/5, with another draw priced at 18/1.
Wardley is 7/4 to win by stoppage or 15/4 to win on points. Clarke is 10/3 to get the finish or 4/1 to get a points decision.
In terms of round betting, the shortest odds are on Wardley to win in the eighth or ninth rounds at 16/1. If you fancy a first round KO by the Suffolk man, you can get 66/1.
“Very similar to how it played out the first time around, a war. I’m called War-dley for a reason – get stuck in, throw bombs, let him know I’m there, hurt him again, get him going and just be a bit more clinical when I’ve got him going.
“I’ve watched the fight back numerous times and I had so much success with so many things that I was doing, fighting that kind of way, that if I just make a few little tweaks on how I go about certain things, I think it comes out well.
“I had him hurt, had him knocked down – so as long as I tweak the finishes, the fight is over.”
"A clinical execution, that's what I'm going to say. To say war, that implies it's 50/50 - this is not going to be 50/50. Chess not checkers."
As I discussed earlier, in the tactics section, I can see Clarke starting the better of the two again, with Wardley wisely taking a bit of time to have a look at him and pick the right spots to launch considered attacks.
But ultimately I believe the Suffolk man can impose his will and declare war again. He only needs to land once, and I've seen him do it from ringside - his power is both terrifying and exhilarating.
This time, however, I think he'll finish the job and get the stoppage.
My pick: Wardley by KO in round 8.
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