Clarke vs Zorro Predictions: Cheavon to leave his mark on Zorro

Amateur standout Cheavon Clarke takes on Ellis Zorro on Saturday, May 25. The fight takes place at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, on the undercard of Jack Catterall vs Josh Taylor II. The bout will be televised live on DAZN with the vacant British cruiserweight title on the line.

Here are my Clarke vs Zorro predictions ahead of this cruiserweight clash.

This fight finds our principals at contrasting stages of their career. Clarke is 8-0 as a professional and coming off a career-best win over former European champion Tommy McCarthy. Zorro was knocked out in one round in his last fight, a challenge for The Ring cruiserweight title against lineal cruiserweight boss Jai Opetaia. 

The concept of motivation comes to the forefront here. For Clarke, his own incentive is clear. This is a chance to score an impressive win over a former world title challenger. His win over McCarthy last time out showed he can hang with European level fighters. Now the 33-year-old gets to prove his mettle against a man who was challenging the best cruiserweight in the world as recently as December.

For Zorro, motivation might be harder to come by. He had his chance to reach the top of the mountain and it ended within three minutes. The defeat took place on the Day of Reckoning card in Saudi Arabia last December. To be so comprehensively beaten on such a high-profile event is a scar a fighter can carry for a long time. To rebuild after losing a world title fight is a delicate art.

Zorro certainly could have taken an easier route. Nobody would have begrudged him a more workmanlike opponent in his first fight since Opetaia. An eight-round scrap against a journeyman in order to get his sea legs under him. But instead, Zorro takes on one of the hottest prospects in British boxing.

Jamaica-born Clarke was a force at amateur level. A Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, European Championships silver medalist as well as a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, the 33-year-old has seen it all in the amateur game. Now he is looking for a fast rise in the professional sport.

So far so good on that score. 8-0 with six knockouts, Clarke is already world-ranked by the WBA and IBF, with a lofty fourth-place position with the former. He might not quite be ready for a shot at WBA champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez just yet, but that fight will be on his mind. First though, he must defeat Zorro.

Zorro remains in the world rankings himself, despite the Opetaia nightmare. He is currently 13th-placed with the WBA. A win for the 31-year-old here would put him right back in the mix. What better way to start a comeback story?

Clarke will have questions asked of his blistering skills here. Zorro is an all-rounder who does everything quite well. He has solid hand-speed, he can dig without being concussive and he can cope with a brawl. The latter came to the fore when he went tit-for-tat with Luca D'Ortenzi to pick up his 17th win, in a fight that could have gone either way.

I’m backing Clarke to work Zorro out, though. He is adept at walking down his opponents, closing distance and getting his shots off. I see ‘C4’ cutting off the ring and getting his shots off with regularity. Those power punches will add up and I can see Clarke taking this one by knockout.

I can see this going into the later rounds, with Clarke to prevail in round 10 priced at 16/1 . I think this is Clarke’s fight to lose and, unfortunately for Zorro, I just don’t believe the Olympian will.

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