Frazer Clarke attempted to get under the skin of his heavyweight rival Fabio Wardley as the pair faced off at Portman Road on Tuesday night ahead of their grudge match later this month.
Clarke and Wardley will finally settle their differences at the O2 Arena on March 31, with the latter’s British and Commonwealth titles on the line.
The bout is less than four weeks away, they went face-to-face prior to kick-off in the Championship clash between Ipswich – who Wardley supports – and Bristol City.
And Clarke decided to wind his opponent up by wearing a Norwich shirt, as he happily paraded around the jersey of Ipswich’s bitter rivals.
Wardley held up his own Ipswich shirt, before then walking up to Clarke as they exchanged words on the pitch in front of the fans.
Fabio Wardley (left) and Frazer Clarke (right) went face-to-face at Portman Road, with the latter wearing a Norwich shirt to wind up his rival
Clarke wound up the home fans with his antics but did not seem to care that he was the villain
Wardley’s British and Commonwealth titles will be on the line against Clarke later this month
Wardley is unbeaten as a professional and is currently leading the way on the domestic scene
Clarke has also never lost as a professional and won an Olympic bronze medal in 2021
The home fans were far from happy with Clarke’s gesture as they booed the Olympic bronze medallist.
But Clarke did not seem to care and had no issues with playing the villain on this occasion as he beat his chest to supporters in the stands.Â
Clarke was born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, and has previously declared that he is actually a Manchester United fan.
It is not the first time that a boxer has worn the colours of their opponent’s rivals to try to gain a psychological edge.
Brash-talking American Floyd Mayweather famously did the same during his press tour with Ricky Hatton prior to their fight in 2007.
Floyd Mayweather famously wore a Man United shirt in 2007 to wind up City-supporting Ricky Hatton
The brash-talking Mayweather went on to beat Hatton via 10th-round stoppage in Las Vegas
Mayweather put on a United shirt and stirred up the UK crowd right in front of the Manchester City-supporting Hatton.
Mayweather went on to beat Hatton in the ring, knocking him down twice on his way to a 10th-round stoppage win in Las Vegas.
Clarke will hope to follow in Mayweather’s footsteps by getting the better of Wardley in a battle of the unbeaten heavyweight stars.Â
Yet Tuesday proved to be a positive night for Wardley in the end, as Ipswich came from behind twice to win 3-2 and maintain their promotion push.Â