Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke batted it out in one of the most enthralling British heavyweight title bouts in recent memory. Both men were out on their feet in the final round after trading blows for 36 hellacious minutes.
Clarke started brightly and got his uppercut tactics going almost immediately. However, only too often, he could only manage a couple of punches before needing a short break. He did draw first blood, though, as Wardley’s nose opened up early on. Blood from the bridge continued to flow the entire fight, with referee Steve Gray checking with the doctors late on.
Wardley piled on the pressure to force Clarke onto the canvas in the fifth. It wasn’t a heavy knockdown, but it was enough to give the Ipswich Town fanatic the spoils of the first six rounds.
From then on, Wardley tired badly in the second half of every round, allowing Clarke back into the fight. By the twelfth, the two fighters ran on empty until Clarke almost put Wardley down with less than a minute to go.
Ultimately, the three judges couldn’t separate them as a rematch looms. Nobody would argue about another helping after scores read 114-113 Wardley, 115-112 Clarke, and 113-113 even.
Wardley vs Clarke results
A welterweight grudge match featuring Chris Kongo and Florian Marku went the distance as both men enjoyed their moments.
Kongo undoubtedly got the better of most of the exchanges, though, as he kept Marku at range and unable to land significant combinations.
After the scheduled distance, Kongo claimed a WBA ranking title and the opportunity to push towards a full championship chance.
Ben Whittaker got a good eight rounds in without adding too much to his highlight reel of unorthodox moves. It initially looked like Whittaker could take out Leon Willings early when dropping him in the first. However, Willings survived and eventually landed a few blows on the elusive former Team GB star.
“The Surgeon” was simply too good, as predicted pre-fight, and won every round in second gear on his way to a decision triumph.
English cruiserweight champion Viddal Riley defended his title against Mikael Lawal. However, Riley’s performance led to more questions than answers.
Riley stayed out of trouble for the most part and landed enough punches to take the rounds without setting the world alight.
Callum Simpson moved closer to a domestic super middleweight clash with Zak Chelli after a one-punch knockout of Dulla Mbabe. Simpson connected in the fourth round after softening Mbabe up for the first three sessions.
Once down, Mbabe wanted no part of what Simpson was dishing out and was counted out on his backside.
Alen Babic recovered from a first-round knockout at the hands of WBC bridgerweight champion Lukasz Rozanski to get back in the win column. Giving away 22 pounds to ‘Disney Drago‘ Steve Robinson, Babic had the upper hand from the first bell.
Robinson took far too many heavy shots and had a real lack of defense throughout the fight. In the end, the fight was stopped in the sixth round. Babic improves to 12-1.
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