On Saturday night, Fabio Wardley dismissed Frazer Clarke’s title challenge with surprising ease, although his performance has since come into question following comments from Clarke’s promoter, Ben Shalom. Now, after Frank Warren labelled Shalom as ‘disrespectful’, the BOXXER promoter has responded.
Wardley and Clarke went to war in one of the fights of the year on Easter Sunday, battling to a bloodied split-draw at the O2 Arena that captivated fans as much as any bout for the coveted Lonsdale Belt should.
Yet, it was a different story when the pair met in Riyadh on Saturday night, as Wardley scored an emphatic and brutal first-round knockout win that left ‘Big Fraze’ requiring surgery.
During the aftermath, Ben Shalom cast a cloud of uncertainty over Wardley’s gloves, after hearing from a doctor that the amount of damage dealt to Clarke is beyond what should be capable from a regular boxing glove.
Yesterday, Frank Warren claimed that Shalom was attempting to tarnish Wardley’s win and threatened to take his rival promoter to the Board for ‘bringing the sport into disrepute’.
“It’s a disgrace Shalom has tried to tarnish Fabio’s win and reputation with such a dangerous suggestion.
“The British Boxing Board of Control checks and approves all gloves at the Friday meeting – which is filmed these days – and no issues were raised.
“I will be taking Shalom to the Board for bringing the sport into disrepute with this libellous allegation and questioning the integrity of the Board and everybody involved in the Riyadh show.”
Today, ahead of the weigh-in for tomorrow night’s fight between Adam Azim and Ohara Davies, Shalom admitted to Boxing Social that he was not an expert on the subject of gloves – adding that he was simply passing on concerns that he had heard during the fight week.
Ben Shalom discusses the comments he made regarding Fabio Wardley’s gloves.
🎥 https://t.co/xII9dlNip4#Boxingpic.twitter.com/HHwQPI6PhB
— Boxing Social (@boxing_social) October 18, 2024
“In no way is this a justification or an excuse [for Clarke’s loss] or anything. I have said so many times and given Fabio Wardley so much credit for what he did on Saturday night.
“We’ve all seen Frank’s reaction and this and that, ultimately I am not a regulator, we just pass on concerns that we get.”
“I am not an expert on that side of things [gloves] and ultimately I was asked about it and I said ‘yes there has been questions’ and I passed on those questions. I’m not the authority, the British Boxing Board of Control is the authority.”
“It’s quite clearly not an excuse for the defeat, we are not accusing anyone of any wrongdoing but when I get questions as a promoter, I have a responsibility to pass those questions on.”
A spokesperson for the British Boxing Board of Control has confirmed that there will be no investigation into Fabio Wardley’s gloves.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.