The 29-year-old Wardley, however, has, in previous victories over David Adeleye and Nathan Gorman, succeeded in high-profile fights against domestic rivals, and it is partly for that reason that Everett has predicted he will win.

Everett, who as the trainer of the Walsh brothers guided Liam Walsh into a fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis for the IBF super featherweight title in 2017, has observed Wardley’s evolution from a raw fighter into a proven professional since he first started sparring Sam Sexton, a heavyweight Everett trained, that same year, and having immediately admired Wardley’s natural abilities he no longer sees a lack of amateur experience holding him back.

It is as an amateur that Clarke, 32 and an Olympian, has more experience than Wardley, but he has fought only eight times as a professional and not at the same level as Wardley, and Everett said: “When [Wardley] first came to us, he was a lot leaner, ganglier, and unorthodox. I wasn’t quite sure about him. He did have lots of speed and a good jab, but I always thought he would struggle because of his lack of amateur experience.

“A fighter does not need to have lots of amateur experience, but it does help fighters to have that. Sam [Sexton] only had 20-odd amateur fights, but he did fight internationally as a junior; he won the youths and boxed [Tony] Bellew in the ABAs.

“Time flies, doesn’t it? He made his pro debut [beating Jakub Wojcik] at the same time as he was coming to us. He regularly came to us to spar with Sam for his fight with Hughie Fury and I had said that Fabio was our hidden secret for that.

“At that stage, he had become pretty useful and had improved significantly. At first, [Sexton] just used to walk Fabio around and help him out, but as time passed, Fabio was doing eight good rounds with Sam and they were very competitive sessions. Fabio made great progress, and around that time, I did an interview and said that I believed Fabio would at least be a British champion.

“He is very, very fast with his hands, unorthodox, and he can punch. He can punch a lot better than people realise.

“His unorthodox style and stance enable him to throw those explosive shots and he’s a very determined man. He comes across as nice and polite, but he has a very good steel about him.

“You have to credit him because he has worked hard to become a big, strong heavyweight. He has been out sparring all over the place too. When he was younger, he sparred lots with some very good heavyweights, and all credit goes to him.

“It seems to be working for him. But we only see what we see on the night.”

Boxxer, the promoters of Sunday evening’s contest, resisted previous attempts from rivals Matchroom to match the two fighters in the belief that Clarke required more fights before accepting so significant a test.

“Fabio has had the bigger nights as a pro,” Everett continued. “It is quite hard to say to someone in their 30s that this fight is too early, but I think as a professional he is lacking that little bit of experience and seasoning.

“In an ideal world, Frazer would have liked to have had a few more big fights to challenge him like Fabio has had with [David] Adeleye [who Wardley stopped in October]. Fabio’s fight with Natham Gorman [a stoppage victory in 2022] was a proper fight. I knew people in the game who thought it was a flick-of-the-coin type of fight.

“A lot of people fancied Adeleye against Fabio. Those couple of fights will definitely put Fabio in a very good position. Fabio has been to the big party before.

“I think he wins comfortably on points or possibly a stoppage – maybe by a cut or something. I think Fabio might be a little bit too sharp and explosive. If he sticks to his boxing, which I’m sure his coaches will have planned, I think he will be too snappy and too clever for Frazer.

“Clarke has experience in short fights. This is a 12-round fight, and it makes a lot of difference. Fabio has experience in championship fights – simple as that. He has been in there, done the rounds and been a pro for a while now.

“I like Frazer. I think he is a very big, strong man. He has great amateur experience, but between him and Fabio, I fancy Fabio.”