- Joe Hewlett
- 14 January 2022
Cheavon Clarke signs long-term professional contract with Eddie Hearn
"I can give you a bit of the Mike Tyson, a bit of the Ali, the Roy Jones. Ultimately, I’m Cheavon Clarke."
Cheavon Clarke's life story is a remarkable one. He has cheated death twice. Aged eight, he fell off a ladder and impaled himself on a spike and almost died.
Clarke moved to England from Jamaica with his mum and sister at the age of 10. Then when he was 18 he flatlined in hospital after a burst appendix.
Born in Montego Bay, Clarke competed for Jamaica at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The Gravesend fighter then almost quit the sport following the Commonwealths to become a lorry driver.
Instead he changed allegiance to England and Great Britain and soon after won the England Boxing elite national finals in 2017.
He joined the GB Boxing squad soon after and was promoted to the Podium Squad later the same year.
The heavyweight, who trains at Gravesham Amateur Boxing Club in Kent won a silver medal in 2017 at the European Championships.
He also has three bronze medals from the Commonwealth Games, EU Championships and World Championships.
Professional career
Clarke turned pro in January 2022 and signed a long-term promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing.
He made his pro debut the following month and wasted no time in disposing of Toni Visic (20-30-2) in round two.
Clarke impressed at the O2 Arena with a stylish victory over the Croatian, who was floored in the first round. But his resistance lasted less than two minutes of round two when Clarke landed again and his opponent was unable to make the count.
Early Clarke knockouts
Clarke proceeded to knock out his next three opponents - Pawel Martyniuk, Marcos Karalitzky and Jose Ulrich with minimum fuss.
He then produced a unnamimous points win over Israel Duffous, who was floored four times in February 2023.
Win vs Jamieson
Clarke walked through the toughest test of his career to date as he dropped and stopped David Jamieson inside five rounds.
Clarke downed the Scot in round four and when the next round arrived it was a trademark right uppercut that dropped Jamieson for a second time.
He beat the count for a second time, but referee Bob Williams decided to wave it off. The official time of the stoppage was 0:35 of round five.
Clarke said: "He said he was going to knock me out so I had a point to prove.
"I thought my performance was ok. You saw a little bit of what I can do, but there's plenty more to come."
The fight was an eliminator for the British cruiserweight title, but promoter Eddie Hearn thinks Clarke is ready for bigger things.
Hearn said: "I love Chris Billam-Smith but I think he beats him already. I think he can mix it with world champions now."
Tokoyo Olympics 2020
Clarke tasted heartbreak in his first bout at the Kokugikan Arena.
After receiving a bye in the first round he was handed a favourable drawn against Brazil's Abner Teixeira.
Clarke though could not get the better of his younger opponent despite a bright start.
In a first round full of body shots, Clarke took the round on three of the five judges cards.
Teixeira took the second round, which was again dominated by body shots.
And in a close final round, in which the GB boxer was warned to lift his head, Teixeira edged it, despite the Cuban judge giving Clarke all three rounds.
The German judge saw it 30-27 the other way and Teixeira took the other three judges' votes 29-28.
Olympic qualifying
Cheavon Clarke booked his spot at the Tokyo Olympics by winning his heavyweight quarter-final at the Paris qualifying tournament.
Clarke took a split decision against Greece's Vagkan Nanitzanian in the quarter-final. He used his jab to good effect and landed some heavy right hands to see off his mobile, younger opponent.
The Jamaican-born heavyweight missed out on a place in the final though after losing on a split decision to Emmanuel Reyes Pla of Spain.
Clarke's taller and more mobile opponent proved hard to pin down and the Spaniard was a worthy 4-1 winner.
World and European gold medallist Muslim Gadzhimagomedov from Russia defeated Reyes Pla in the final, via a split decision.
Bronze in Minsk
Clarke secured GB's first boxing medal at the 2019 European Games in Minsk in June 2019.
He registered a unanimous victory over Holland's vastly experienced Peter Mullenberg in his heavyweight quarter-final.
But he was beaten in the semi-final, losing 4-1 to the Belarussian Uladzislau Smiahlikau.
Clarke was back in action at the Bocskai Memorial Tournament in Debrecen in February 2021.
But he was beaten by the exciting, but inexperienced European Youth Champion Wilfried Florentin from France.
Clarke would have guaranteed another bronze medal had he topped his more youthful opponent and he started well with some successful hooks.
However, Florentin put his foot on the gas and produced a scintillating final round in which Clarke had to be counted twice.
Clarke took some heavy combinations and Florentin took the split decision with an impressive final burst.
Personal Life
Clarke grew up in the small town of Stonehenge, near Montego Bay in Jamaica.
The super heavyweight amateur star moved to England with his mum and sister at the age of 10 and started school in Kent.
Having represented Jamaica in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he made the Team GB squad in 2017.
Net worth
Clarke is estimated to be worth around $1million.
