Frazer Clarke vs. Jeamie Tshikeva & Francesca Hennessy vs. Fabiana Bytyqi RBR.

Glaze away bro lol, I'm a Wardley fanboy too. I have an automatic contempt for anyone without an amateur background - the last truly great fighter without one (or a stealth amateur proxy) appears to be Benny Leonard - so I tend to go all in on anyone who genuinely threatens to break through to that level from nowhere, and he is my boi right now.

 

Yep, and credit where it’s due both guys showed real heart in there tonight, you could tell a win meant something to them!

 

Wardley has already broken through. He’s a world champ, won the title by beating a seasoned vet former champ who was well regarded and who has a good resume. Even if he retires tomorrow, he’s in any boxing history book as a “that **** really happened” anecdote.

I gather you were a fan of Qawi? His amateur career was sparring in jail.

 

Everything you say is accurate tbh, but we were talking about what happens when he goes even further, against proven champions etc.

As for Qawi, well he is one of the many top tier fighters produced by the excellent prison boxing program of the 60's to 80's, which acts as an amateur career proxy - just like military boxing programs, going pro at 13 in Tijuana, and those odd work camp/boxing troupe things that produced the likes of the Old Mongoose etc. All are proven, if ever increasingly diminished, substitutes for a conventional amateur record. But the point is that you usually need to compete seriously from a young- ish age against a large talent pool, with intensive coaching. Also Qawi was pretty great, but not a "true great".

 

I thought Clarke boxed well in the first Wardley fight. He was outboxing him comfortably for most of the fight or than the few occasions he was badly hurt. I also felt Clarke looked levels above Dave Allen who I’d rate at least alongside Jeamie TKV. Also Clarke showed his quality by becoming an Olympic medalist.

The rematch was one of the most scary KO’s that I have seen and many fighters are never the same after one like that, especially if you are on the wrong side of 30.

Now Jeamie TKV obviously deserves credit, he must be better than I previously believed he was from the couple of fights of his I’ve seen but Clarke unfortunately may have lost this because he’s damaged goods.

 

Payback for that bull**** stoppage in his last fight

 

Once a glass jaw cracks, they generally don't come back:

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/frazer-clarke-is-packing-glass.727642/

 

I respect your take on things, but I tend to agree that Itauma, Torrez and Sanchez are sub Hrg.

Actually I'd be fine to put a $100 on Hrg over Fury right at this moment. If he's not getting cut he's a real handful for all of them not named Usyk IMO.

He seems to be almost a Saudi regular so I guess he's building towards a significant late 26 undercard date.

 

After twenty years they brag about putting together this card full of mismatches and bums???? Pathetic. Boxing is doomed.

 

Boxing is in a spiral, but I think it will turn around in the next decade. Once the sports streaming market settles and Saudi money leaves or adjusts its financials, its when things will start picking up again.
And eventually the US will produce another superstar who kickstarts things over there too.

 

Yeh he was decent in the first wardley fight, arguably could have got the decision and as you say the injury in the rematch was a horror!

It’s a weird one because he doesn’t seem gunshy as such like scared to throw, he’s not even scared to take a punch it’s just there doesn’t seem to be much there in terms of power or gas tank or ability to switch tactics

I just think even without the wardley ko he’d have stayed this level, good fundamentals but doesn’t have those extra little edges needed at euro/world level

If Dave Allen rematch was made I’d actually favour Allen

 

Dave Allen vs. TKV would be a great British fight, Clarke vs. Fisher would also be a good enough fight, I think...

 

He took tonnes of punches. Tshikeva isn't a big puncher, but he hit him plenty of times, including when tired. So I'm not sure why you are patting yourself on the back. It's also not like Clarke was scared to be hit.

 

What the US needs is a case where one of the big personality self-promoters with a fan friendly style takes the sport seriously, isn't a diva, and doesn't do dumb ****. A sane and focused Tank or Garcia. Or give a big personality to Bam or Vergil.

Eventually it'll all land in one person and then we'll be off to the races.

 

No, he was handed a vacated title.