The 34-year-old heavyweight left his long-time coach, Angel Fernandez, and called The Ring’s 2015 Trainer of the Year, Joe Gallagher.

Clarke was given no special privileges or extra leeway but threw himself into life at at Manchester’s famous Champs Camp gym.

As the 2020 Olympic champion went through the process of getting fit and settling in to his new surroundings, Gallagher watched and began putting together a plan.

The getting to know you period is over and the two are in the midst of serious business.

On April 11, Clarke (9-2-1, 7 KOs) will box Australian contender Justis Huni (12-1, 7 KOs) on the undercard of the fight between returning two-time heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Many wrote Clarke off following his loss to TKV but Gallagher told The Ring that he entered into their partnership with no preconceived ideas or expectations.

“When Frazer said to me, “What do you think of my fights?” I said, “I've never watched you fight”. I just dealt with him as a blank piece of canvas, as someone that's come in the gym,” Gallagher said.

“I analysed what he was good at, what he wasn't, what he could and couldn't do and then we went to work about it. It was only a couple of weeks ago I watched his first fight with Fabio Wardley [March 2024 split draw] and thought he won that. I agreed with the Howard Foster scorecard, 115-112, but I felt there was a moment in the fight he switched off. He switched off for them two rounds which cost him.

“He got a count but he finished strong - I think he won the last four rounds of the fight - so there is work there that you can do with him.”

The first-round knockout defeat Clarke suffered in his October 2024 rematch with Wardley could be put down as the type of sudden, shocking result that can happen when big heavyweights trade shots but the loss to TKV left Clarke in a precarious position.

Many would have expected him to take his time, get used to life with Gallagher and wait for the right opportunity to get his name back in the mix. Neither Clarke or Gallagher think that way.

Rather than taking the safe option, Clarke leapt at the opportunity to make up every inch of the ground he lost to TKV by fighting Huni and Gallagher is onboard with his way of thinking.

“Everyone can have a warm-up but my first fight with Lawrence Okolie was the world title in Poland. Matthew Macklin was against Wayne Elcock. Scott Quigg was the British title,” he said.

“It doesn't really bother me. First fight, warm-up fight? None of that. If a fighter can fight and he's good, then that's it. Justis Huni, a former amateur, the same as Frazer. They should have met at some stage but he's a good fighter and if Frazer Clarke wants to be where he needs to be, then that's it.

“I've not listened to no outside noise, people's opinions of what he should or shouldn't be doing now in his career. I'm only going off what I see in the gymnasium. I'm happy and he's doing everything that I've asked of him. Huni is number 15 in the WBC at the moment now. It's a big fight and a big step up for him.”