Heavyweight contender Fabio Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) jumped on Frazer Clarke (8-1-1, 6 KOs) immediately, hurting him with a crushing right hand and then blasting him to the canvas with two tremendous right hands to score a quick first-round knockout in their rematch on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Wardley looked like he wasn’t playing around. He went after Clarke right away, connecting with a right hand that spun him around like a top, sending him face-first into the ropes.
Clarke turned himself around and fired back a nifty right uppercut that showed that he still had his wits about him. Wardley connected with a short right hand, then a left-right that had Clarke looking badly hurt once again, sending him retreating to the ropes. Wardley then landed two sledgehammer rights to the head that put Clarke down.
There would be no coming back from that knockdown, as Clarke was too hurt. It looked like his jaw was knocked askew by the two right hands that Wardley finished him with. Even if Clarke had gotten back to his feet, he wouldn’t have been in a condition to continue. The time of the stoppage was at 2:28 of round one.
Earlier this year, Wardley and Clarke had fought to a 12-round draw on March 31st at the O2 Arena in London.
Eubank Jr. Stops Szeremeta
Highly ranked middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) knocked out Kamil Szeremeta (25-3-2, 8 KOs) in round seven to win the IBO title.
Returning from a 13-month layoff, the 35-year-old Eubank Jr. looked well-rested, knocking Szeremeta down four times in the contest. He dropped Szeremeta in rounds one and six with right hands to the head.
In the seventh, Eubank Jr. knocked Szeremeta down twice with body shots. The fight was halted after the second knockdown of the round. The time of the stoppage was at the 1:50 mark.
Eubank Jr. looked good against this level of opponent, but he didn’t show the kind of ability that suggests that he would beat any of the champions at middleweight. At this point, that doesn’t seem to be Eubank Jr’s goal.
None of the champions at 160 are popular enough for Eubank Jr. to make the money he hopes to get. He’ll fight Conor Benn next, and if he wins that, he’ll likely be selected by Canelo Alvarez for a title defense of his three super middleweight belts. Eubank Jr. is a domestic-level prizefighter and not a world champion-level fighter.
Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron Ends in Draw
Undefeated light heavyweight Ben Whittaker (8-0-1, 5 KOs) and Liam Cameron (23-6-1, 10 KOs) fought to a disappointing five-round technical draw. The 2020 Olympic silver medalist Whittaker suffered a right leg injury when he and Cameron fell out of the ring in the fifth round. The fight was stopped at that point, and it went to the scorecards.
The scores were 58-57 for Whittaker, 58-57 for Cameron, and 58-58. Whittaker, 27, was taken away in a wheelchair after the fight.
Cameron was landing the harder shots and appeared to have taken over the fight by the third round. Whittaker looked like he was mentally falling apart from the fourth from the hard punches that Cameron was continually hitting him with.
In the fifth, Whittaker hit Cameron repeatedly with low blows, which resulted in the referee giving him a hard warning. Moments later, Whittaker grabbed Cameron while they were against the ropes and leaned on them, sending both outside of the ring. It looked to some fans like Whittaker was trying to get out of the fight to save himself from being knocked out. We’ll never be sure, but there will likely be a rematch.
Skye Nicolson Defeats Rave Chapman
Unbeaten WBC female featherweight champion Skye Nicolson (12-0, 1 KO) outboxed Raven Chapman (9-1, 2 KOs), winning a wide ten-round unanimous decision. A smiling Nicolson, 29, used movement and potshots to dominate every round of the fight against the plodding Chapman. The scores were 99-91, 98-92, 98-92.
