Frazer Clarke was deducted two points for low blows in the sixth round, before David Allen retired in his corner; Watch Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr live on Sky Sports Box Office
Frazer Clarke overcame Dave Allen via referee’s stoppage as the White Rhino retired following the sixth round in Manchester on Saturday night.
Allen failed to emerge from his corner ahead of the seventh round and appeared to indicate a burst ear drum as the fight was brought to a halt.
It followed a gruelling and, at times, messy sixth round in which Clarke had been deducted two, and very nearly three, points for low blows.
The pair proceeded to exchanges words at the end, seemingly in reference to the low blow incidents.
Victory lifts Clarke’s unbeaten record to 8-0 and takes him another step towards a meeting with some of the marquee names on the domestic heavyweight scene.
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“Not vintage again but if you’re going to learn on the job, let me tell you Dave Allen is the man to do it with,” said Clarke afterwards.
“My feet were a bit lacklustre, but there was some good stuff in there as well. He’s a tough man, like I knew he would be.
“I tried my variations. It didn’t backfire on me. Listen, it’s a fighting game and I’m a clean fighter. If it strayed low and hit the belt, then I apologise to Dave right now, it was never intentional.
“I felt a few of them were good shots and I felt like him being an experienced pro with an experienced corner, they tried to manipulate the referee. They’ve followed the media and what’s been going on these past weeks. Fair play to them, they tried using it to their advantage.”
Clarke had found plenty of joy with a flurry of jobs that were greeted by little resistance from his opponent, who seemed content to eat up shots in hope of testing the Olympian in the latter rounds.
A focus on the body at times almost landed Clarke in trouble, but his cleaner work to the head would tell as Allen sported a reddened face before being forced to retire.
Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr 2 is live on Sky Sports Box Office tonight. Book it now
