The countdown is on for a packed night of boxing action at the Manchester Arena on February 19th, which culminates with the grudge match between Amir Khan and Kell Brook.
While the main headlines will be made by the main event, there’s plenty of other storylines and areas to focus upon on the undercard offerings.
Among them is Frazer Clarke – the 30-year-old British Olympian who won bronze at the delayed Tokyo 2020 games and is now set to make his professional debut.
He’s the latest in a long line of Olympians who have enjoyed success at the games, including the likes of Khan and Anthony Joshua, although he’s older than you might expect from a debutant.
Here’s everything you need to know about Clarke ahead of his debut.
What’s his amateur record?
Unsurprisingly given his age, Clarke has a wealth of experience at amateur level and enters the professional scene with 88 amateur bouts under his belt.
That comes as part of a record of 63 victories, five by way of knockout, and 63 victories – with it also including his gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the 2020 Olympics.
What happened at the Olympics?
One of six GB medallists in boxing at Tokyo 2020, Clarke was the captain of the team and his bronze medal capped off his revival having lost to Joe Joyce in 2016 and ultimately being overlooked for the games in Rio.
His charge for gold came to a close following defeat to Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov, who ultimately won gold and has a 9-0 professional record.
What has he said?
Clarke is certainly setting his sights high, outlining his desire to face the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua further down the line.
“Eventually, I want to be up there with the big names. I want to fight the people I am inspired by – Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua.
“We saw Derek Chisora and Joseph Parker do a great fight. They are the kind of nights I want. I want all the big names, all the big fights, but I understand that it’s a process.”
How successful can he be?
Clarke’s camp are adamant the wait will be worth it, with promoter Ben Shalom stating his belief that he can emulate the quick rise through the heavyweight ranks shown by fellow Brit Joe Joyce.
“Joe Joyce is the easiest to compare. He is an obvious comparison. Frazer will have to move as quickly as Joe, who is now 35 and is in world title contention.
“By the time Frazer is 35, we’d be very disappointed if he hasn’t already had a world title fight. “He will have to move quickly in the next few years but also carefully.”
