Brave Fabio Wardley survives horror nose injury to DRAW with Frazer Clarke in fight of the year contender
FABIO WARDLEY survived a sickening broken nose to cling on to his British heavyweight title from Frazer Clarke with a blood-soaked draw.
The 29-year-old Ipswich ace spewed blood for most of the fight but still dropped the 2020 Olympic bronze winner.
And after Clarke,32, had a point deducted for two low blows, the judges scored the sensational bout: 114-113 Wardley, 115-112 Clarke and 113-113.
The pair swapped evenly matched jabs from the start but a right hand from 19st Burton-on-Trent behemoth Clarke looked close to ending it early.
Wardley somehow swallowed the biggest booming right hand of his career but his nose appeared to change shape from the blow.
And he suffered much more jabs after that potentially career-changing blow.
And Wardley made a brilliant start to the second, peppering Clarke with shots from both hands, until an uppercut staggered him and changed the course again.
Clarke was in the best shape of his career and was producing elite boxing. And Wardley was already at the well, digging deep and trying to find a way around – or straight through – this mountain of a man.
Wardley’s bashed nose was leaking blood by the third and his skull was shaken by another Clarke right hand.
But the game champion bit down on his gumshield and battled back with looping right hands and hooks to Clarke’s body.
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Round five was magnificent as Wardley, with his broken nose oozing blood and making it hard to breath, suffocated Clarke with pressure and punches and folded him down into the deck.
Incredibly the giant beat the count and heard the bell and came out swinging for the sixth.
Clarke landed a second low blow in the seventh that gave us all a much-needed breather – but cost him a potentially crucial point. And he was hurt by another right hand at the start of the eighth but he rallied heroically again to whack Wardley with a shot that shattered his nose once and for all.
Wardley was spitting out mouthfuls of his own claret by the ninth, even Clarke’s huge shaven head was coated in it.
The doctor was called up in the tenth and ordered to check the disfigured nose and he let it continue. Clarke was then hurt but spat out his gumshield to get a brief rest and right on the bell – after another three minute war – Wardley smacked the mouthpiece out again as Clarke gasped for air.
Wardley looked like a car crash victim – almost unrecognisable – by the end of the 11th but he was still swinging and hurting Clarke and grabbing late rounds.
And these two heroes were still somehow standing and slugging it out at the final bell. And everybody climbed to their feet to honour them and wait for the decision.