Heavyweight prospect, Frazer Clarke admits he felt the pressure on his shoulders on his professional debut, but says he enjoyed the experience on Saturday night.
Clarke (1-0, 1 KO) made his long-awaited first bow on the undercard of Kell Brook’s sixth round stoppage win over Amir Khan at the AO Arena, halting fellow debutant Jake Darnell with a brutal first round TKO.
The former Team GB captain secured a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and admits he did feel a weight of expectation on him ahead of his first fight.
“It’s all about improving, taking my time,” Clarke told proboxing-fans.com after his fight on Saturday.
“But, I can’t lie I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the ring walk. I enjoyed the team being here with me, it felt very good.
“This bond between me and the team is going to get better and better when we get to know each other a more.
“It’s the first one, it’s a stepping stone, but yeah I enjoyed it.
“It was a lot of pressure, it was huge.
“I think if you ask anyone that’s been around me, I think I played it pretty cool this week to be fair.
“Of course there’s pressure. You have that Olympic pedigree, you have everyone making out that you’re the next coming of this, next coming of that.
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“I’m just me, I’m big Fraze, take me as I am, what you see is what you get and one fight at a time,
“I’m not getting excited, nothing to rave about there.”
The 30-year-old signed a promotional deal with Ben Shalom’s BOXXER in December, after inking a managerial deal with Anthony Joshua’s 258 MGT.
Shalom has already made it clear that he would like to fast track the Burton man in a similar vein to how Joe Joyce moved through the ranks.
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Clarke says he wants up to five fights this year and is looking to return in March or April.
“Hopefully five [fights by the end of 2022],” he added.
“We’re just planning the next one already.
“So, god willing I can stay fit and healthy and keep improving and I’m sure the fights will just roll.”
Watch the full interview with Frazer Clarke below:
