Fabio Wardley spoke of the dark side of having as bruising a fight as he and Frazer Clarke did in their draw at London’s O2 Arena.

The British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion retained his titles at the conclusion of 12 violent and competitive rounds after scores of 114-113 for Wardley, 112-115 for Clarke and 113-113 were awarded by the three ringside judges, and while his reputation was enhanced and he can expect to earn more money from a rematch, he was aware that doing so had come at a potentially greater cost.

He was also rightly proud of the fact that the fight between he and his greatest rival, 32, proved so entertaining, but speaking post-fight from under a hat he attempted to use to cover some of his bruised and swollen face, he said: “It’s not an ideal way to box. It’s not an ideal way to fight. It definitely takes some years off your life, and worries the people around you, so it’s not something I’m planning to do too often. 

“But ultimately there’s value in it. Knowing that it’s there; knowing that I did it over 12 rounds; went through the fire to try and get him out of there. They’re big boxes ticked.

“That fight was one for the books. That British title brings out a lot in people, and definitely between me and Frazer, it brought out the best in us. One for the history [books], because we know how much that belt means to people and how much it means to people and means to us. We put on a hell of a show.

“My nose has seen better days. It’s not broken. I’ve had a scar on there for a while now that keeps opening up; it’s not the most helpful in the middle of a fight but it’s not broken. It’s perfectly fine.

“It was more of an annoyance, to be honest. Blood getting in my mouth; blood getting in my eyes. That’s more of it. When you’re in the middle of a firefight like that you’re not going, ‘Ouch, that punch hurts’. I’m just cracking on and getting the job done. It was just more aggravating than anything.

“[I’m] immensely proud. The performance itself I’m not the most happy with. I did a lot of things wrong; made a lot of mistakes. But it’s all learning. I know I’ve had 16, 17 fights, but I’m still quite fresh; I’m still learning, and that fight definitely taught me a lot. To be able to put on a performance, in terms of entertainment value, like that for the fans, and just give the belt the respect it deserves to be fought for like that, is something I’m immensely proud of. 

“Them initial rounds he was actually a bit sharper than I thought he might be. But he came out pretty well; was shooting that jab away, and it took me some time to figure it out, but eventually I did.

“I was worried about my mum. ‘She’s not gonna like this. They are not gonna enjoy this one.’ When you’re in the thick of it I’m just worrying about what I’m trying to do; what he’s doing; your brain’s constantly going; constantly thinking and trying to come up with different ways and what works and what doesn’t work. 

“He was tougher than I expected. When he went down, I thought, ‘Okay, cool – here we go. Get him out of there’, and he got up, weathered the storm, and I had him going three or four other times in the fight as well and he weathered them and got through them. Credit to him for being a strong, brave man in that fight.”

Wardley-Clarke proved the most entertaining British heavyweight title fight since that between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2015, and asked, post-fight, about what Whyte – so influential in his career – had told him, Wardley, 29, responded: “As soon as he got in the ring he was immediately telling me how proud he is; how much he loves me; how much he loved that fight. Maybe not how much he loved it, because he definitely cares for me and doesn’t like to see me in those types of tear-ups, but that is also part of the reason why he initially picked me and took me under his wing – because he knew that was in me. 

“He knew that heart was in me. I’m from the same cloth that he is; I’m built the same way he is. He’s been in those wars and he’s come up, and I’m going through them as well. Mine was going to come sooner or later, and I don’t want to be in too many more of them – I’ve probably knocked off a few years of my life for that. But it’s all in the name of a good bit of fun.

“[A rematch is] an option, isn’t it? The fans are probably going to ask for that. I’m never going to count a draw as a win, but I’ve still got my belts, and there’s still a lot of options on the table for me to look around. Whether it be the rematch; whether it be other options; whether it be something else. We’ll take some time, and then we’ll reassess.

“There’s a lot of lessons to be learned in that fight. Real nuances as well. Small details, with things I was messing up and not getting right. Consistently doing wrong in certain spaces as well.”