Fabio Wardley’s rise from white-collar fighter to O2 Arena headliner as he faces Olympian Frazer Clarke

The stories could not be more different. White-collar fighter meets medal-winning Olympian and poster boy for amateur boxing – contrasting worlds collide as Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke share the ring at the O2 Arena this Easter Sunday.

The intriguing caveat to the tale? Mr white-collar enters the weekend’s all-British heavyweight encounter as defending occupant of the British and Commonwealth belts and, thereby, the favourite.

Wardley is a rare beacon for the – albeit less-so these days – underground realm of unlicensed boxing, breaking away as his own strand and interpretation to the white-collar model while torching his domestic obstacles and evolving the story from small-hall obscurity to nationally-televised headliner.

Clarke is meanwhile an Olympic bronze medallist whose amateur resume has seen him travel between the UK, Germany, Poland, India, Finland, Russia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Brazil and more on his road to national prominence. He has won gold at the Commonwealth Games, silver at the European Championships, gold at the European Union Championships and gold at the Great Britain Championships, inspiring younger generations to climb the amateur ladder as he did in aid of opportunities to represent their country and secure experience at a regulated speed.

Wardley’s background? Four white-collar bouts and a sudden transition to life as a professional, during which he is yet to stumble. He deems it the ‘hard way’, as a journey of grit, heart and clawing his way from nothing to something as the awkward, gangly, novice part-timer fighting in local clubs who would go on to become a British champion. Clarke deems it the ‘easy way’, as a fast-tracked route to the titles, recognition and opportunity he seeks on the back of a life experience-enrichening yet gruelling amateur career.

“I love the fact when people talk about Fabio’s white-collar, I absolutely love it because he’s beat kids along the way that have had all this amateur pedigree and think that because of where he comes from they are automatically a better fighter,” Wardley’s co-trainer Ben Davison told Sky Sports. “But he’s knocking these guys out.

“He’s a hard worker, very professional, invests in himself. There is not a single heavyweight that will have an easy night with him.”

White-collar boxing originates from New York in the late 1980s and early 90s, at which time Wall Street boys in local gyms decided to start fighting at black-tie events, the ‘white-collar’ tag in reference to the everyday occupations of those that would partake.

It would soon escalate in popularity around the globe as average joes stepped inside the ring to release any 9-5 work-fuelled frustration, or to contribute to fundraising at charity events or to purely test themselves physically in an unfamiliar sporting environment.

A 22-year-old Wardley had been working as a recruitment consultant in an Ipswich office and playing football at the weekends when he made the decision to turn his attention to throwing hands in the gym. When the opportunity to fight arose, Wardley said yes, and yes again, and yes again, and yes again. Four bouts later, he decided to turn professional.

“He’s an inspiration, he’s why people come to this gym,” says trainer Robert Hodgins. “They see him training here and he’s always with the guys giving advice. Boxing wise, he walked into the gym about eight years ago. I knew Fab from football and he walked into the gym and wanted to train.

“He was very athletic from football, when he came into the gym he was still in very good shape and he was very quick as well.”

White-collar events naturally vary in opinion. In many cases they can serve as a wholesome celebration of competition and personal triumph as fighters devoid of boxing experience challenge themselves across a taxing training camp before being treated like a star as they exercise what they have learned while fighting in front of friends and family, raising money for excellent causes in the process. In other past instances, less-moderated events have occasionally been prone to criticism in light of concerns over safety and conditions. For the most part, the premise is fun. For the most part these days, an emphasis on controlled sparring, professional training, bigger gloves and protective gear limits the risks.

The exchanges can be raw, erratic, and everything you might expect of an eight-week camp in which to learn the basics. Few take it any further. Wardley did.

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“It’s funny to watch, it makes me cringe to be honest,” laughs Wardley as he watches a video of one of his four white-collar bouts. “The way I move is so awkward!”

The outcome is a vicious Wardley knockout after a flurry of ring-stalking attacks. As would become the story of his young professional career to date.

One thing that cannot be disputed, is Wardley can fight. How he can fight. It might be argued he fights like the quintessential white-collar fighter, a dogged relentlessness to heighten the intensity and test himself when things get tough in there, coupled with a finisher’s instinct he has since chiselled in the professional ranks.

“He was very raw but very talented at the same time, very confident and knew his way around the ring and was very confident in what he did for somebody with limited experience,” adds Hodgins.

“I knew he had talent, I turned around to our other guy Matt and said he could go a long way.”

The gangly, awkward fighter at which Wardley laughs and cringes enters Sunday’s fight a dominant 17-0 as a professional, 16 of his wins coming by way of knockout including stoppage victories over Nathan Gorman and David Adeleye. The narrative has shifted, natural power having been weaponised and surprise success snowballing into a belief he can make a career for himself above the domestic levels.

“It’s funny because they call me the same thing but I think it’s swapped from almost disrespect to admiration,” said Wardley. “It was ‘you’re just a white-collar fighter’ and now it’s ‘oh, you was just a white-collar fighter and now you’re doing this?’.

“It’s the same tag, just worded differently.”

It has also injected an added nugget of fascination to Sunday’s main event as the unorthodox rise of Wardley meets the pedigree of Clarke, who has embraced the role of flag-bearer for the value of traditional amateur boxing. Added spice comes via the storyline surrounding Clarke’s non-participation in purse bids for the first around this time last year, since which the Olympian has been accused of ‘ducking’ his British rival.

“He said it himself, he boasted how he goes to the amateur clubs and talks to the kids and tells them how to follow his career and going through the ABAs,” added Wardley.

“That’s great, but if you’re the spokesperson for that and then you lose to little old white-collar me, what does that say to you and your career? It’s a lot of weight for him to carry.”

For Wardley, who defeated Adeleye in Saudi Arabia on the Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou undercard, Sunday’s main event beckons as perhaps the most meaningful reflection yet of his journey from fighting in the local pub or leisure centre in Ipswich. Clarke wears his background with pride, and so too Wardley.

“It’s just nice I’m able to be the look to for people to go ‘you don’t have to do it the conventional way’,” he said. “If you want to do it a bit different then you can, as long as you’re committed, train hard and do everything properly you can make a way in the sport.

“You’ve got to force your way through a bit, you’ve got to graft and work harder than the rest and get your head down and crack on but you can do it.

“I take it as a nice privilege for me to be able to carry that.”

Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley will collide in a ‘Bad Blood’ showdown for the British and Commonwealth titles on Sunday March 31 at The O2 in London, live on Sky Sports; the flamboyant Ben Whittaker will feature on the undercard, as will Viddal Riley vs Mikael Lawal.

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