Fabio Wardley erases Fraser Clarke, scores first round KO in rematch

In one of the most anticipated heavyweight rematches of the year, Fabio Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) walked through Frazer Clarke (8-1-1, 6 KOs) in one round.

Their first fight in March, which ended in a split draw, was a war of attrition. This time around, it was a blowout.

Boxing in the main support to the undisputed light heavyweight title clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, Wardley stamped his claim as one of the most exciting fighters to watch in the open weight class.

The 29-year-old Wardley showed all the bravado of youth, jumping on Clarke at the first sign of weakness. That came midway through the first round when he found an opening for a perfectly timed overhand right, sending Clarke reeling into the neutral corner. In a clever move, Wardley dug into the body with both hands while Clarke tried to brawl his way out of trouble. It was a bad decision.

Wardley got the better of the exchanges, spinning Clarke into the ropes. When Clarke untangled himself, he was met with a hard left hook followed by a clubbing right hand that buckled the knees of the 33-year-old and crumpled him to the canvas.

Clarke, on one knee with his arm draped over the ropes, looked up at the referee with his eyes rolling back in his head. The fight was wisely called off.

“I always know that once I hurt someone I can get rid of them,” said Wardley, who, according to CompuBox, landed 64% of his power shots.

When Wardley and Clarke first met at the O2 Arena in London seven months ago, the question was whether Wardley could match it with Clarke, who won bronze at the tokyo Olympics.

The 12-round fight was a belter. In a battle of wills that showed plenty of shifts in momentum, Clarke was down in the fifth round and deducted one point in the seventh for repeated low blows. Still, Clarke weathered the storm to survive until the final bell, drawing on his amateur pedigree to eke out a split draw by scores of 115-112 (Clarke), 114-113 (Wardley) and 113-113.

This time around, Wardley left no doubt.

“I’ve got dynamite in each hand. I know once I hurt someone I can get rid of them,” Wardley said.

“I want belts, I want titles. These look great and stuff, but I want the ones that say world champion. Whoever else is hunting them, we’re going to have to meet here.”

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