Fabio Wardley’s custom gloves being ‘looked at very carefully’ after savage KO of Frazer Clarke, promoter wildly claims
FABIO WARDLEY is potentially facing an investigation into the gloves he wore in his brutal beatdown of Frazer Clarke.
The Suffolk slugger, whose team have vehemently DENIED suggestions of glove tampering, settled the score with his domestic rival with a vicious first-round KO in their Riyadh rematch last weekend.
Clarke was left with a broken jaw and a huge dent on the side of his head courtesy of Wardley’s wicked overhand right.
And the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist’s team are set to look into the padding in Wardley’s custom Fly gloves, which the British Boxing Board of Control approved before the pair traded heavy leather.
Promoter Ben Shalom told BetFred: “Yes, it’s something we’re looking very carefully at with our team.
“Not just for big Frazer’s sake, but the fact that these customised gloves are being introduced, you have to look into it and see how they’re different.
“It’s an ongoing process, but during the week we were warned repeatedly by Frazer’s team about what gloves could be used.
“It’s no excuse, Frazer lost the fight fair and square, but it’s the damage that they could cause and that’ll have to be looked at.
“I take nothing away from Fabio Wardley. Class act, class performance, but it’s something that we’ll look at going forward.”
Clarke, 33, was immediately transported to the hospital after the devasting defeat and underwent a litany of scans.
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He had successful surgery to repair the damage to his broken jaw and damaged cheekbone before flying back to the UK.
And Shalom claims doctors were left stunned by the damage he sustained from the concussive blow.
The Boxxer chief said: “There was a lot of talk all week about the gloves being worn by Fabio Wardley.
“And the doctor said to me, ‘There is no way in hell any boxing glove should be able to have that level of damage.'”
Shalom, however, insists the padding in Wardley’s custom gloves made no difference to the outcome of the fight.
He said: “It was a clinical, clinical end to the fight from Fabio Wardley.
“Anything can happen in heavyweight boxing and Frazer will learn from it and he’s got a massive career ahead of him.”
Clarke broke his silence on his crushing defeat on Thursday, insisting he WON’T be hanging up his gloves.
He told talkSPORT: “Don’t get me wrong I was devastated at the time and my pride is still dented now but the fighter in me knows that I will be back.
“It is going to be a difficult road but I will work hard like I always have and aim for those heights again.
“I’m 33 but I’m in the prime of my life, I felt in my prime on that night but it was just a great shot from Fabio and a leaky defence and switch off from myself.
“But I’m fittest now and the most athletic I’ve been in my whole career so I’m not even looking for it to be over.
“If anything it is just a blip in the road.”
SunSport have contacted the British Boxing Board of Control for comment.