Grateful for the time he's spent away from the boxing ring in recent months, Frazer Clarke is now ready to put his chastening defeat to Fabio Wardley behind him.

Clarke (8-1-1, 6 KOs) and Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) fought each other twice in 2024. Their first battle was nominated for The Ring's Fight of the Year award while their second bout got put up for Knockout of the Year.

Unfortunately for 33-year-old Clarke, he was on the receiving end of said KO, losing in the first round to Wardley on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol Riyadh Season card last October.

Clarke, a Team GB Olympic Bronze-medallist, had to undergo surgery for a broken jaw following his defeat to Wardley, The Ring's No. 9 heavyweight contender.

With boxing running through his veins, however, Clarke still has all the might and grit needed to get back in the ring.

In an interview with The Ring, he insists that from now on, every fight he enters into needs to be done so with needle, and with a want to inflict bad intentions on his opponent.

"My pride was really badly hurt after my last fight, so I'm going to treat every fight now like it's a really, really serious fight," he said. "I was on an upwards trajectory, fighting for titles early on. I do feel like I'm at a very good level. I'd say that the fight with Fabio was above British title level.

"[The second fight] made me mentally and physically a stronger person. It got put into perspective when there's mad things going on around the world. Saying that, it's my job and it's been a difficult time.

"I've come out the other side and I've come out stronger. I'm looking forward now, it's a prime example of what can happen in this sport. Maybe it was complacency, I don't think it was, I felt physically and mentally great in camp.

"I'm not an excuse-maker. At the end of the day it was a fair fight, I've got to give him his credit, it was a devastating performance. But in my head if we got in the ring again it would be a very close, very good fight."

The first Wardley fight was brutal and bloody. Clarke was knocked down in the fifth but plenty of spectators thought he did enough to win the bout, though the judges declared it a split draw with scores of 114-113 to Wardley, 115-112 to Clarke and 113-113 even.

The former ringside security guard, famed for stopping an in-ring melee during Anthony Joshua's 2015 KO win against Dillian Whyte, is adamant he doesn't intend to be in any more wars.

Clarke said: "When I was younger, religiously, like every two days, I would watch Gatti-Ward and I used to think 'I'd bloody love to be in one of those fights'. But as you get older and you have some serious sparring sessions you think 'I don't want many of those'.

"After going through that with Fabio, it was an experience-and-a-half, but I don't want too many of them. It was a proud moment being nominated [for Fight of the Year], we were among some great fighters.

"When you speak to us fighters, we're not normal, rational people. The sick thing is I really enjoyed it, but I won't be able to take my son to the park if I have too many of them."

Clarke is still hellbent on leaving his mark on the pro game, having impressed as an amateur fighter, electing to leave the unpaid ranks late at the age of 30.

As a professional, the Burton-born fighter raced to an 9-0 record, picking up wins over Bogdan Dinu, Mariusz Wach and Dave Allen.

As an amateur, he won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, and was a two-time European and Commonwealth champion. But Clarke had to leave the limelight to both Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) and Joe Joyce (16-3, 15 KOs) for much of his time training in Sheffield at the English Institute of Sport.

He was on vacation in Ayia Napa, Greece, when Joshua, his Team GB team-mate won Olympic Gold in London. And he was beaten four times by Joyce, including in an ABA super-heavyweight final in 2014.

Joyce went on to win silver at the Olympics in Rio two years later before turning over and securing huge victories against the likes of Daniel Dubois, Carlos Takam and Joseph Parker.

But Joyce has since been stopped twice in agonising fashion by Zhilei Zhang, before losing to Derek Chisora on points in another pain-staking affair.

And Clarke fancies his chances at revenge.

"Joe Joyce, I know him personally, I've followed his journey, but that's one fight, after the ABA final we had, that I think would make for a good fight, a big fight if I'm honest," he added.

"That is absolutely of interest to me. Joe's someone I've been in the ring with four times and I've never had my hand raised yet. I would absolutely relish the chance to get that back, I don't see why that fight can't happen. Those are discussions we should definitely be having.

"But a lot of people are talking about me and David Adeleye, I think that's a great British fight. Or if the opportunity pops up on the European stage, I'm happy to do that as well.

"Never, ever write me off. The way this game is, so much opportunity can come if you do the right things. I wouldn't say it's a massive rebuild, it's a little one.

"One person to take inspiration from is Daniel Dubois; he was written off and now he's world champion. Now look at him."