Fabio Wardley didn’t decide to a rematch within the quick aftermath of his thrilling draw with Frazer Clarke.
Wardley and Clarke couldn’t be separated after 12 rounds of compelling motion on the O2 Enviornment on Easter Sunday.
It meant Wardley retained the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles, however Clarke directly known as for a rematch.
“It doesn’t have to be immediate. It doesn’t have to be at all, necessarily. I still have my belts. I still move forward. Again the ball’s still in my court. It’s still my decision,” Wardley informed Sky Sports activities.
“We’ll look at the options. It was a good fight,” he continued. “I do not know if I can do too a lot of these in my profession, take off an excessive amount of, put my household and associates via an excessive amount of panic.
“We’ll look at things. We’ll have a chat with the team, we’ll reassess. There are some things on my end I need to sort first and then we’ll go again.”
That rematch although may headline at a stadium. “Portman Road is always on the cards. It’s one the club want, it’s one I want. We did the O2. I think the next step from that is a stadium of some sort,” Wardley stated.
“So maybe if we do come all the way round to it and go again, that’s a very viable option.”
Wardley did knock down Clarke within the fifth spherical and the latter was additionally deducted a degree for a low blow.
However the champion didn’t dwell on the drawn end result. “I’m not going to start bashing the refs or bashing the judges, that’s not my style. It was what it was. It was judged however it was judged,” he stated.
“Ultimately it was on me to do more in a fight to make it more convincing evidently. Next time around, if we get on, that’s what I’ll be doing.
“There’s positives and negatives to be taken from that. There’s components of the efficiency I am happy with, components of the efficiency I am not so happy with. However total it was a superb night time of boxing. Possibly not a lot boxing, possibly preventing however nonetheless.
“It’s all I’ve done in my career to date, have fights that are good, bad, hard, easy and improve and this will be no different.”
Regardless of the bitterness of the lead-up to the battle, Wardley was left with a brand new respect for Clarke.
“I said a lot in the build-up about his heart and seeing whether it’s there and turning up on the night and how he reacts under the lights and look, he did his bit. He reacted well,” he stated.
“All credit to him, you need the right dance partner for massive nights like this, massive moments in my career and credit and thanks to him for being that for me.”
Ben Shalom, who promoted the occasion, desires to make that rematch subsequent.
“We’d love to do it straight away,” Shalom informed Sky Sports activities. “I do think Fabio, from looking at his face and I think his nose might be broken there, what a tough man, he’ll need some time. Whenever Fabio’s ready really.
“Fabio deserves an enormous quantity of credit score as a result of I’ve by no means seen somebody out on their ft however equally so harmful on the identical time. His face was mashed up at instances and he saved coming. I feel the knockdown and the purpose deduction most likely swung it in direction of a draw.”
But he added: “Nobody deserved to lose.”
The saga between the pair will continue, especially if the rematch is next.
“It has been a narrative that is lasted for 12-18 months,” Shalom said. “Did we ever suppose Wardley-Clarke would proceed? And it does proceed. The chapter’s not completed. Unimaginable night time and each guys deserves a number of credit score.”
Whyte: Wardley received by two rounds
Wardley’s mentor Dillian Whyte says he believed the champion did sufficient to edge the competition after scoring the early knockdown.
“I thought Fabio was always winning the fight and always up on the scorecards,” Whyte informed Sky Sports activities.
“With him being the champion, Frazer was the one always having to do more to win it. Credit to Frazer, he kept his composure and fought well.
“Fabio confirmed in fights earlier than that he can at all times pull it out the bag when he wanted to.
“I was worried, but I had faith in him he could pull it out the bag when he needed. I fought Fabio had it by two rounds and as the champion he did enough with the heart he showed.
“I assumed he was dominating the tip of rounds as effectively, I assumed he received it by two rounds.”
Whyte added that he will leave Wardley to rest and recover before revisiting conversations over a potential rematch between the pair.
“We must wait and see,” said Whyte.
“Fabio will go residence and relaxation and we’ll converse in every week or two as a result of there is no level in chatting with him now, he is received a number of feelings in his physique, he is simply been via an enormous adrenaline dump up and down so generally it is not good to talk to fighters like that.
“I’ll give him a break, let him relax and enjoy the fight and then we will speak in a week or two.”
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