“I’ve had this conversation a lot over the past few weeks,” Frazer Clarke told BoxingScene when asked about his fight on Saturday with Jeamie Tshikeva being on the BBC.
“I’m thrilled for Boxxer as a promotional company, that they’ve managed to get this deal over the line, because, what happened with Sky – I’m not too sure what happened but what I know is that’s one of the best platforms in boxing, in sport, and it’s not there anymore. It’s been important for a lot of us fighters that they got some TV.
“Being on the BBC is a great opportunity for myself and everybody else to be shown to the masses in the UK. But saying that, as fighters, we just want to fight. BBC; DAZN; Sky Sports; they’re all fantastic. But we just want to fight. That’s the be-all and end-all. The fact it’s on there – it’s fantastic for the broadcaster, fantastic for the promoter, and it probably will turn out to be good for the fighters as well, but right now there’s a lot of fighters that have just been on the sidelines for a while and guess what? We just want to be in the ring. I don’t care if it’s in a back garden; in a dirty old gym; I just want to be in a competitive fight.”
The heavyweight, 34, has long been one of the British fight scene’s most honest and engaging talkers. He has previously spoken about the threats made to him by followers of his one-time rival Fabio Wardley; of his fears of brain damage after later being stopped by Wardley being so great that in the ambulance on the way to the hospital he was telling the mother of his children where she could find his will.
It is demonstrative of the value his promoters Boxxer see in him that Clarke is the focal point of the first date of their new broadcast deal. It, similarly, demonstrates his importance to their plans that despite their reportedly having a vastly reduced budget since agreeing terms with the BBC following the end of their association with Sky Sports, Clarke has been retained and, to use one name, Ben Whittaker has not.
On Saturday at Vaillant Live in Derby, England, Clarke and “TKV” Tshikeva will contest the vacant British heavyweight title. Clarke can record his finest achievement as a professional on British terrestrial television – more than ever a fighter’s profile and marketability can secure his future more effectively than his talents – and yet instead of playing the promotional game he is open about the reality that his only occupational concern lies in getting paid to fight.
“I imagine there would have been an opportunity for me [to go] elsewhere, yeah,” he explains. “I’m not saying I could never, ever leave Boxxer; ‘There’s not a world where that could happen’. But I’ve stuck with them ‘cause they’ve stuck with me through a few difficult times. I’ve been given a great opportunity. Some of the fighters have left, and some might carry on to leave. It’s each to their own.
“As long as I’ve got an opportunity to fight on good cards I’ll stick with the people that have been with me since the beginning. If that ever stops then there could be a world where I have to look elsewhere. But for now I have to say ‘Thank you’ to them, because since I’ve been pro they’ve been nothing but good to me, so I can’t really complain.
“When there’s no TV every fighter’s thinking ‘Oh my god – we’ve got to go somewhere we can fight on TV’, because it affects everything. It affects your money. It affects your commercial opportunities. Everything. So of course it crossed my mind. I was assured – ‘Just give us a minute; at least give us that’ – and I’d say ‘I can give you a minute but remember, my mortgage payments still come out; I’ve still got kids; I’ve still got a roof to put over people’s head; I’ve got to think of myself’. People talk about loyalty – if you want loyalty, you have to go and buy a German Shepherd. But if you can present opportunities – good opportunities – I’m with you.”
Boxxer’s Ben Shalom has, since their separation from Sky Sports – and counterintuitively for a promoter – kept a low profile. Whittaker has signed with Matchroom and been critical of him; his domestic rivals Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn, of Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom, have been critical of Boxxer’s fight dates clashing with theirs; acrimony persists between he and Sky Sports.
If Shalom’s integrity has also been questioned, his reputation hasn’t been helped by the perceived neglect of their cruiserweight Chris Billam-Smith. The popular Viddal Riley has already confirmed his departure from Boxxer; the promising Adam Azim’s future remains the subject of uncertainty; Caroline Dubois and Lauren Price are among their greatest assets but apparently uncertain about their next moves.
“Ben has his critics, like we all do, but in terms of me – we’re humans and we have differences now and then, and I’ve had words with him,” Clarke said. “‘Just be straight with me – that’s all I ask for.’ He assures me that he’s looking to build something big with the BBC, and I’ll take his word for it. If I see that’s not happening or it’s not going the way I want it to we’ll maybe have a different conversation. But I take people at face value and, to me, he’s been okay.
“In the short few years I’ve known him what I do know is these other promoters and people have tried to bully him and he’s still here. He’s a resilient man. They tried to terrorise him – of course they do; very experienced promoters – and he’s still here and won’t go out without a fight, and that bodes well for me and the other fighters at Boxxer, because he’s going to want to bounce back from whatever troubles he’s had, so, yeah, I’ve got belief in him.
“It’s probably a bit more major to me than it was to everyone else. What people don’t understand is I’ve known the guys at Sky a few years, since I’ve been pro. I’ve been friends with a lot of these guys at Sky Sports since, probably, 10 years ago – probably a little bit longer. Working in security, and being around these guys, it was actually a dream to fight on Sky Sports. A dream to be involved with the broadcast and with the people; you form relationships. It’s number one for sport, in my eyes – I don’t care that we’re with the BBC now, it’s no skin off my neck. Sky Sports is the home of sports in the UK. So it was sad, on a personal level, but this is a business decision not made by me – [it’s] by the company Boxxer and Sky between them.
“They’ve had whatever differences; now the BBC are involved, and as a professional I have to act like a professional and I’ll box wherever I told I’m gonna box and wherever the opportunity is. Right now that’s with the BBC. Do I miss Sky? Yes. Am I going to miss boxing on Sky? Yes. But again, I’ve got mouths to feed; I’ve got a house to pay for, and I’ve got a burning desire to win the British title and become British champion. That opportunity’s in front of me. It’s an opportunity I’m gonna take.”
Tshikeva, 32, represents Clarke’s first true test since the horrific knockout inflicted in October 2024 by Wardley. Clarke returned to the ring in April to stop Ebenezer Tetteh inside a round but victory hasn’t made preparing for Tshikeva any easier; he consciously uses what happened against Wardley – which no doubt has done so much to shape his perspective and attitude – to drive him when he’s at a low ebb.
“When I fought Tetteh I felt I had a little something to prove,” he said. “I still feel the same. People discounted that victory, because it was me, but he had 10 rounds with Dillian Whyte and he was a tough opponent. But when I smoked him in a round – ‘He looks like he’s 50; he’s come over for a payday; he’s fell over’ or whatnot. So I have to go back to the fight again, show exactly the same mentality and exactly what I’m about, ‘cause that was a little bit more what I’m about, with Tetteh. But there’s levels to go and I’m a better fighter than that now.
“I think [Tshikeva’s] good. I think he’s really good. I thought he was beating David Adeleye quite comfortably. I’m treating him like he’s a world champion and I’m the challenger. He would have been British champion but for some foul play by David Adeleye and a mess up from the ref, so I’m treating him like he’s the champion and I’m the challenger.
“He’s durable. He’s got a good jab; he’s got a good boxing brain; he’s in a good gym surrounded by good fighters; he’s got a good team around him, and he’s hungry. What I have; what I’ve been working on; what I’ve been training on, will be enough to derail him.
“I don’t ever want to put Fabio Wardley behind me. That defeat is one of the best things to happen to me in my career, believe it or not. It’s one of the harshest, best things to ever happen to me, and I’ll never forget that. That moment is a good moment to remind myself of what this sport’s about, so when things get tough or you don’t want to do this or you don’t want to do that, I play that to myself and it reminds me ‘You know what, you’ve got to work very hard’, and I don’t wanna put it behind me ‘cause I wanna put it right. I hope to get back in the ring with Fabio at some point and we can put that right.
“[For the British title this will be] third time lucky. I won my ABA title on the third attempt; I lost two finals to Joe Joyce; third time I got it. Let’s hope it’s the same; let’s hope it’s a good omen and third time lucky. It’s fantastic to be put in a position to fight for the British title. I’m very lucky to have three opportunities, so I’ve gotta make this one count.”
Also on Saturday, in nearby Birmingham, Whittaker – in his first fight since signing with Matchroom – will confront his fellow light heavyweight, Germany’s Benjamin Gavazi. Whittaker-Gavazi was confirmed before Clarke-Tshikeva was reorganised as a consequence of an injury suffered by Tshikeva and both audiences will inevitably therefore suffer.
“I’m told that the main events will be at different times, but it’s never great for fights to clash, is it,” Clarke said. “It’s never great for that to happen. But again, that’s a squabble between the promoters. I didn’t pick the date. I get told the date.
“‘Do you want to fight on this date?’ ‘Absolutely.’
“I just want to get paid, look after my family, pay the mortgage, be able to go for a steak now and then – that’s it. That’s all I wanna do.
“I don’t care who; where; when. Not my business.”
