While working night shifts as a truck driver after a disappointing first round exit at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Jamaican-born Clarke found his way back to the gym and recommitted himself to the sport.

It was a wise decision.

Clarke would go on to beat Billam-Smith in the final of the 2016 edition of the prestigious national ABA tournament and got the better of the Bournemouth man in the final of the English Title Series later that year. He also made it through a Team GB assessment and secured a spot on the Great Britain squad at Billam-Smith’s expense. Clarke would go on to represent his country at the 2020 Olympic Games.

The sequence may have derailed Billam-Smith's plans at the time but it didn’t hurt the former WBO cruiserweight champion too badly in the long run. Still, it is clear The Ring’s No. 3 ranked cruiserweight still remembers the sting of defeat. For Clarke, the rivalry was just a part of his journey.

A decade later, they will meet again. Clarke (12-2, 9 KOs) and Billam-Smith (22-2, 14 KOs) will fight at London’s Copper Box Arena in the main event of Zuffa 12 Saturday night. The fight will be televised by Sky Sports in the UK and Paramount+ in the US.

“Growing up, some people said to me, 'Don't let your emotions supersede your intelligence' so I'll leave that there,” Clarke, 35, told The Ring. “Listen, when I started boxing, when I fought Chris, people need to realize I was a lorry driver at the time. I used to drive nights. I used to come home, I used to run in the day and then if I was lucky, I’d get to train again and then I'd sleep for a little bit and then I'd go driving again at night. So, I never had the proper camps that he probably had.”

Clarke is happy for Billam-Smith to pour his time and energy into thinking about the past. He is solely focused on Saturday.

“Yeah, there will probably be a lot of disdain or whatever, but it is what it is, isn't it?” he said. “I've gone on to do what I've gone on to do and he's done the same. It was inevitable that we were going to meet at some point. So, me ... I ain't emotional, man.

"I suppose it might have been working for him up until now.”

That detached, business-like attitude has proven extremely useful over the past 12 months.

In May 2024, Clarke dismantled Ellis Zorro to become the British champion. Then things got progressively harder.

That August he dug deep to grind out a 10-round decision against the heavy-handed Efetobor Apochi and then lost his unbeaten record to the excellent Leonardo Mosquea in a close battle for the vacant European title.

In April 2025, Clarke wasn’t himself and drifted to a 12-round decision loss to Viddal Riley on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn at Tottenham.

People who staunchly believed in Clarke suddenly began to doubt him and he had to rely on self-belief and desire to remain a factor in a busy division.

A promotional deal with Zuffa Boxing has given him a new lease of life and, on June 6, Clarke started the next part of his career by getting off the floor twice to stop Jack Massey in the seventh round of an edge-of-the seat thriller.

Clarke entered 2026 wondering exactly where his career would take him. Now, he is going into the biggest fight of his life on the back of his best win as a professional.

“The game is the game, isn't it?” he said.

“I always say to my friends that there ain't no friends in this business and over the last couple of years that's kind of been evident. You meet good people and I'm fortunate enough that when I came in this game, I knew a lot of good people and they're still by my side. That’s the reason why I probably don't mix and mingle too much.”

Clarke may not have much time for the boxing business outside of the ropes but he still loves fighting. Signing with Zuffa, as well as being matched with fighters like Massey and Billam-Smith, has lit a fire inside him and he becomes more and more animated in talking about the ins-and-outs of the actual fight.

Clarke could probably live without the long nights behind the wheel of a heavy goods vehicle but it definitely feels like he misses those old amateur days when opponents were drawn out of a hat and a difficult run of form didn’t result in a career rebuild.

Maybe, once the first bell rings this weekend and his rivalry with Billam-Smith starts all over again, the memories of those good old days will come flooding back.

“I think all the guys that have been on a similar journey to me in terms of boxing on the national team and traveling the world by the lottery funding, being able to do this and getting a wage, all miss it,” he said.

“The only thing that's better about pro boxing is that you get paid a little bit more money. That is it. Everything else is what it is.”