Clarke

What is it really like behind-the-scenes at a big boxing event?

With boxing back on BBC linear television after 20 years, we were given exclusive access to fight night, from pre-fight preparations, to ringwalks, a ringside view and dressing room celebrations with the teams.

READ MORE: TKV stuns Clarke to win British title

Available to UK users only.

Around 3,500 vocal fans filled the intimate arena, jeering TKV on his ring walk. ‘Big Fraze’, from nearby Burton-upon-Trent, received a rousing reception in return.

Much to the fans’ delight, he asserted himself in the opening round, snapping a jab to the body before ripping in stinging uppercuts that clearly troubled TKV.

But the Tottenham man – whose family boasts a fascinating history, with both his father and grandfather serving in the Zairean army – showed his fighting spirit and settled into the contest.

The bout had originally been scheduled for October before a rib injury forced TKV out. The postponement reignited tensions, souring a once-respectful rivalry.

Clarke’s corner repeatedly protested low blows from TKV, some drifting in on the blindside of the referee, who issued a warning in the third. Moments later, another borderline shot earned TKV the point deduction.

Jabs were scarce; instead, the fight descended into clinches from Clarke and heavy leaning from TKV, with lunging, telegraphed punches punctuating the action.

TKV found success with his left hook and Clarke with his uppercut, but both men soaked up the shots as if they were bouncing off stone.

Just as the contest seemed to be petering out, TKV – his right eye badly swollen – detonated a left hook that left Clarke reeling in the 11th.

Clarke stayed upright only by leaning into TKV, looking lost as the referee moved in for a closer look.

His coach, Angel Fernandez, looked set on pulling him out, but Clarke insisted on continuing.

He left the ring without giving a post-fight interview, still appearing shell-shocked.

Brandt Clarke scored a power-play goal with 6:10 to play to lift the Kings to a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Clarke’s slap shot from just inside the blue line came with just two seconds left on the man advantage and ended the Kings’ losing streak at three games.

Warren Foegele also scored for the Kings and Joel Edmundson assisted on both of the team’s goals. Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves.

Foegele opened the scoring 5:31 into the third period when he tapped in a pass from Joel Armia, who skated the puck down the right wing. Armia has points in three straight games.

Fabian Zetterlund tied it at 1-1 with 9:11 to play in the third with his third goal of the season and second in two games, but the Senators went scoreless on three power-play opportunities.

Leevi Merilainen made 20 saves for Ottawa, which was coming off wins over Anaheim and San José, the first two games of a seven-game road trip.

Up next for the Kings: vs. the Ducks at Honda Center on Friday night.

George Clarke has admitted that his upcoming routine on Strictly Come Dancing means ‘so much more’ than just the routine because it will be dedicated to his family

George Clarke has admitted that his upcoming routine on Strictly Come Dancing means “so much more” than just the routine. The YouTube star, 25, is gearing up to perform a Rumba on Saturday’s edition of the BBC competition alongside professional partner Alexis Warr.

They will perform to Lily Allen’s cover of Keane classic Somewhere Only We Know, which his sister performed at his grandfather’s funeral, but as George appeared on Wednesday’s edition of the spin-off series It Takes Two, he emotionally explained that he has been struggling to ‘not put pressure’ on himself because he knows how much it will all mean to his family.

He said: “It definitely will be. Especially considering the past few weeks have been much much more ‘ok I can do the steps but can I perform?’ I feel like the steps are very important but the performance is everything to me because it’s a song that means a lot to me and my family. And yeah it is hard this week to not put the pressure on myself because it is a dance that I want to get right even more so.”

READ MORE: Strictly’s George Clarke reveals emotional meaning behind dance after ‘troubling’ decadeREAD MORE: George Clarke predicts Strictly Come Dancing winner – and it’s not him

But, It Takes Two presenter Janette Manrara instantly stepped in to comfort George, and she reminded him: “You have got to let that go so you can enjoy it because it is about enjoyment. Like we was this past week!”

Just days ago, George admitted: “So my sister sang the song Somewhere Only We Know at my grandad’s funeral and it’s a song that means a lot to my whole family.

“My mum has had a lot of trouble in the last 10 years so I thought it’d be nice to use this platform to devote something to her and the rest of the family. Hopefully they’ll be less on the edge of their seat wondering if it’s going to go wrong.”

George has consistently been at the higher end of the leader board throughout his time in the competition so far, but admitted ahead of his next challenge that it can all feel ‘really strange’ to him because performing isn’t something he’s necessarily used to.

He said: “It’s really strange, the whole sort of performing side of it because that’s not something I do.”

Celebrity and PR expert Kayley Cornelius has speculated that George’s social media savviness is giving him is giving him an advantage in the competition. “As we see most years with Strictly stars, the type of content he’s now pushing out, he’s featuring Alexis in a lot of his videos, so he’s really trying to captivate the fans that may not have been familiar with him before,” she said on behalf of Online Slots provider Spin Genie.

He’s posting a lot more consistently and this new type of content seems to really be working with him, it seems to be pushing him on the algorithm more than usual. Strictly’s really bringing a whole new audience for him in that sense.”

She added that George’s large following – over 2.4m followers on TikTok – is also helping the BBC. “To be honest, I think George is doing Strictly more of a favour than Strictly is doing George,” she said.

“He’s bringing in a lot more of the viewers this year. I think there’ll be a conscious effort from the Strictly social team to make sure that he is featured more in the content going forward. They’ll know that a lot of George’s audience lands online. He has a large following, a really engaging, impressionable audience as well.”

She added: “George has had such an advantage point going into the competition. This year, the voting system has changed where they’ve moved votes online – that’s his bread and butter.

“He’s worked really hard, he’s performing well, and he’s just an all-round lovely person. So I think a combination of all three of those things will take him right to the finish line. And you know, with the betting markets at the minute, it is just looking like his competition to win now.”

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