Fabio Wardley flattened Frazer Clarke – he is now the foreman for his extension

Fabio Wardley went from flattening Frazer Clarke to being the foreman on site of the building of his new home extension.

The Ipswich heavyweight defended his British title by stopping rival Clarke inside a round in Saudi earlier this month. Since he’s been back, there’s been drama over Wardley’s gloves with wild claims by Clarke’s promoter Ben Shalom about the Fly brand being questionable.

They were dismissed by everyone involved. But Wardley’s focus has been on his new house project before he continues to build on his big win. He said: “I’m in the middle of renovating a house so I’ve been there getting dirty and dusty and sorting out bits.

“I’ve had the house since May and I built an extension and needed planning permission so it has taken a while. It’s all coming to a head now. It’s in a good place. I just needed to go back there and knock a few heads together.

“You leave tradies on their own for too long then all sorts start to happen.” But while Wardley might be good with his hands in the ring, he’s useless with them when it comes to DIY.

He added: “I don’t do an absolute thing. I’m a great site manager and foreman. I’m a guy who points and directs.” Wardley revealed he was worried for Clarke when the fighter was down needing medical attention following the brutal finish to their fight.

A rivalry has built up between them since a controversial draw back in March but that didn’t mean the Ipswich man wasn’t worried. Clarke was fine to leave the ring unaided but was then taken to hospital for emergency surgery on a shattered jaw which left a dent in the side of his face.

“When the bell rings the person in there has no regard for health and safety but once the bell rings again I go back to normal,” he said. “Ultimately at heart I do care about the people who step into the ring.

“I know there’s an unwritten rule that we accept the dangers and the risks but in all cases we’ve seen some horrific things in boxing. Whereas as much as I can I never want to be part of any of that.”

Wardley’s name has now been linked with facing the likes of former world champion Deontay Wilder as he looks to continue his rise to fighting for global honours.

But while he is acting as foreman on the building site, he will let those with more experience guide his career.

The Brit basher added: “It’s surreal to see my name linked to those fighters.
“We will sit and speak to Frank [Warren] and Queensverry to see what route is best. I’m in uncharted territory now. I’m hunting for a world title. I need to take advice from people who have guided people to world titles before.”