Frazer Clarke questioned whether Wardley moved too quickly after the punishment absorbed in last weekend’s heavyweight title fight
Fabio Wardley’s decision to activate his Daniel Dubois rematch clause immediately after last weekend’s stoppage loss is already drawing concern around boxing. Former opponent Frazer Clarke questioned whether Wardley and his team should have waited longer before committing to another heavyweight war against Dubois.
“My instant thought was is this a bit of a rush decision off emotion, and maybe should he just have a second mate give yourself a couple of weeks recover then him and the team get together and have a calculated think about what’s next but it’s been done, it’s been activated, and here we are and I respect it,” said Frazer Clarke on TalkSport.
“Like I said, I think everyone knows he needs to see Fabio Wardley have a good rest and be 100% to go into that fight.”
The concern is understandable given the kind of fight Wardley came through. Dubois dropped him heavily during the second half of the contest after surviving difficult moments earlier in the bout himself.
Clarke also pointed out that Dubois may still have another level left despite the dramatic win.
“I think Daniel Dubois is actually better than he boxed last week. I think he will get better again because obviously, he’s coming off the Usyk defeat. There was a bit of low confidence and I think in that first couple of rounds it took him a bit of time to build into the fight,” said Clarke.
Spencer Oliver took a different view on Wardley’s decision to go straight back into another major fight with Dubois. He said the unbeaten heavyweight has always viewed his career as a short-term run at the biggest fights possible.
“I wasn’t actually surprised that Fabio done that he activated that rematch clause because that’s the sort of character he is,” said Oliver. “He’s saying, ‘Look, I want to go in there. Give me that world title sort of game. Let give me another crack.’”
Oliver also warned against dismissing Wardley in a rematch despite the beating he took in the first fight.
“He can seriously punch,” said Oliver. “Whilst he’s got that punch power, he’s always got a chance.”
