Fabio Wardley has warned Frazer Clarke and Boxxer that by waiting to fight him they have guaranteed an even more difficult night.

The British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion defends his titles against his long-term rival at London’s O2 Arena on Sunday evening.

Clarke’s promoter Boxxer are also promoting the fight, and doing so in the year after refusing to match them together in the belief that the inexperienced Clarke, 32, wasn’t yet ready.

The previously also inexperienced Wardley has, however, in defeating David Adeleye, since recorded his finest win, and as a 29 year old moved closer to his peak, contributing to what he believes to have been a costly error of judgement.

“If anything it’s more difficult for him,” he said. “I’ve got more experience now; I’ve been part of bigger events; bigger occasions; been preparing for a long time. If you look back at my past two, three fights, they’ve been against really good level opponents, high calibre, high-pressure matches on big stages; big shows. Not just the fight itself, but everything else that comes with it I’ve ticked off; I’ve done already. 

“I’ve been doing it in recent times, and over the last few months and things, all I’ve done is get better. All you’ve seen in my fights is me get better as a fighter, and get more and more used to being in these situations and scenarios. 

“He’s got the background. Okay, his professional career to date has been pretty lacklustre, but the pedigree is there. He’s hungry for it; he’s fresh to it in terms of professional boxing. So the ambition is there; the heart is there to wanna win and wanna kick on and progress with his own career, so he’s not just gonna wanna roll over as well, and that counts for a lot. I give him the credit to say he’s my toughest test to date; technically he’s well-rounded, so there’s some boxes there I need to tick off and make sure I pay attention to with him.

“It was between the pair of them [previously preventing the fight]. Maybe they devised some sort of plan to blame the other, so we never got a clear answer of whose idea it was to avoid the fight. I’m the prime example of being in charge of your own career. He clearly at that point wasn’t, or at least that’s what he says. 

“Ultimately, if there was ever a fight I wanted, I would have it and make sure that things were in place and no one would be able to tell me I’m not gonna do it. Whereas the story he was spinning was that he was told otherwise. The buck will always lie with him. If you say you want it then go get it. Have that fight; make that happen, not listen to everyone else and blame everyone else around you that it’s their fault it didn’t come off.”

Wardley, a promotional free agent, recruiting Ben Davison also means that since those first attempts to fight Clarke he has benefitted from training alongside Anthony Joshua and others.

“He’s in the gym,” he explained. “We cross paths sometimes. We brush shoulders and have a chat. He’s cool; he’s good. He’s working hard and doing his thing. 

“It’s always good to have someone of that calibre in the gym. But that gym as a whole is full of great boxers; great fighters. We’re all brushing shoulders. We’re all picking at each other; egging each other on and pushing each other to be better. When you’re training in the gym and putting them hard sessions in and you look to your left and see ‘AJ’ and Leigh Wood, you’re going, ‘I need to make sure I really push and kick on; everyone else in the gym is; I can’t be the only one slacking off’.

“There’s definitely a level of personal in it. But me and Frazer are respectable enough and respect the sport enough not to act the fool or too stupid. There’s a bit of needle in there. It’s been a long time coming. Everyone knows and has spoken about the fallout before and how it was supposed to happen first time around. There’s definitely some residue leftover from that, but for the most part it’s alright.”