Frazer Clarke on Fabio Wardley first-round knockout nightmare: 'I never thought that could happen to me'

Frazer Clarke suffered a terrible injury, a rare break high on the cheekbone, in a first-round knockout loss to Fabio Wardley earlier this month.

But the Olympic bronze medallist has vowed to continue his professional boxing career.

"I'm a fighter. I was naïve up until that moment, I never thought that could happen to me. Even though it's happened to so many champions over the years, you never think it's going to be you," Clarke told VidSport Live News.

"I've been injured before, I've had broken cheekbones before and I've just got another one now. I'll get past this, I'll get through this no problem."

The defeat came in their rematch for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. Clarke does now need to go through a recovery process before making a return.

"A difficult night for me, a difficult few weeks for me definitely as a fighter and as a human. But I'm recovering well and looking positive, I'm sort of out the dumps and looking to the future now," Clarke reflected.

"I'm not sure I'm going to come to terms with that any time soon. But I'm trying my best day by day.

"It's hard to take, it really is. On a personal note my pride's hurt but physically I'm fine and mentally I'm up for the challenge once again. I've got a few more people to prove wrong now."

He did credit Wardley for that brutal but brilliant first-round finish.

"First and foremost I give congratulations to Fabio Wardley. A great performance from him. In terms of processing it, it's very difficult. I'm not one for making excuses and I never will. I put it down to a great performance by Fabio and maybe a little bit of a slow start from me," Clarke said.

"Heavyweight boxing, I got hit with a shot and then after that it was really difficult to recover. I was in the best physical and mental shape of my life. I felt so ready for it and in a second it was over."

But he concluded: "I'll be fine. I'll get over this. It's part and parcel of my job."