Frazer Clarke has been working tirelessly alongside Anthony Joshua as his friend and training partner prepares for his world title rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in August.
But the Olympic bronze medal winner will continue to carve out his own path in the sport when he fights for the second time as a professional on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith vs Isaac Chamberlain on Saturday.
Clarke’s professional debut saw him demolish late stand-in Jake Darnell inside one round on the Amir Khan vs Kell Brook undercard in February. Darnell had initially planned to attend the show as a fan before being drafted in on one day’s notice.
A hand injury meant Clarke was made to wait for his next opportunity in the ring but he has continued to practise patience, having been around the game long enough to know who to listen to and who to ignore.
Clarke’s next test is against Igors Vasiljevs in Bournemouth this weekend and he is hopeful it will provide the early tests he needs as he embarks on his own heavyweight dream.
And while he is eager to make up for lost time having been sidelined in recent months, he insists he will do things his way and his way only.
‘I’ve seen the opponent, I have had a bit of a look at him and from what I have seen he has given a good account of himself against everyone he has boxed,’ Clarke told Metro.co.uk.
‘He’s got a winning record and he comes in and lets his hands go early. I’m here to learn, I am not here to just knock over some doorman or dustbin man. This is the time for me to learn. People like to bang on about me being 30 but for me it is irrelevant. I need to get in there and learn on the job and become a more all-rounded professional.
‘Boxing fans and people in boxing are very fickle. One minute your opponent is terrible, the next you might get chinned against someone who you are in against too soon. You have got to take your time. I’m on this journey to progress and become world champion. And I will do it my way. We will do it strategically and I won’t be rushed by anyone, I’m my own boss and I’ll do things accordingly.’
While he has just one pro fight under his belt, Clarke is a seasoned operator having fought across the world during his stellar amateur career, delaying his own decision to turn professional in order to win a medal last year in Tokyo having also been part of Joshua’s set up for a number of years.
Clarke has aligned himself with Ben Shalom and Boxxer, who now promote five of the record-breaking Team GB boxers of last year.
Always sceptical over the intentions of ‘dinosaurs’ and ‘celebrities’ on the promotional side of the sport, the heavyweight is satisfied with his own decisions and is happy to keep his faith in the new kid on the block.
‘I don’t trust too many people. I am a hard person to get to trust you,’ Clarke said.
‘Promoters are either dinosaurs or know-it-alls or people trying to be bigger than the fighters. With Ben, he is there, he is there for the fighters and he is not trying to be a celebrity, he is there to promote his fighters.
‘I take my hat off to him. There are of course going to be ups and downs but he is prepared for the stick which has already had a bit of but let’s let him keep putting these shows and doing right by his fighters.’
Clarke hopes to squeeze in two more fights after Saturday night before the end of the year after a stop-start 2022 but is adamant he will move at his own pace.
‘The narrative of boxing is if you set too many goals, you are going to come unstuck. It is a business which is run by people who don’t always want to work with each other. When you talk about titles, if the title is tied up somewhere else, you have to look elsewhere unfortunately. But I have my own goals and at the moment that is to learn something new every day.’
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