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I was yards away from a press conference descending into chaos after heavyweight table flip
MANCHESTER, England - For once in Manchester, the sun is out and the temperature is hotting up, and this was felt inside the newly built Co-op Live in the build up to ‘Heavy Impact’, the first Queensberry show to be broadcast across the world on DAZN.
Headlined by heavyweights Joe Joyce and Filip Hrgovic, it is a fight which carries plenty of baggage despite there being no major titles on the line.
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But while Joyce and Hrgovic were relaxed when speaking to the media for the final time ahead of the opening bell, it was the co-main event where the heavy impact was felt.
Adeleye and TKV wreak havoc
The co-main event on Saturday night will see David Adeleye and Jeamie TKV go head-to-head for the vacant British heavyweight title.
For Adeleye, this is his second shot at domestic honours after being knocked out in his first attempt by Fabio Wardley two years ago.
With the pair having previously sparred, tensions were relatively subdued, but this rivalry sparked into life following an eventful appearance on talkSPORT this past Monday with Adeleye threatening to break his opponent’s skull. This exchange was the talk amongst members of the media as they assembled in the bowels of the Co-op Live who now eagerly awaited the next stage in this big fight build-up.
When Adeleye and TKV were given their opportunity to speak on the stage, it was the latter who went on the verbal offensive and claimed to have been offended by Adeleye’s behaviour.
"I am even more excited about this fight, To be honest, I am offended. I am offended by David’s behaviour,” TKV began.
“He knows me and I know him and the way he has been going about talking I am offending. The way he has been behaving is very disrespectful. I don’t take that lightly and I’m going to show him on Saturday.
"This persona that he is putting on, this bad boy persona. We are both educated men, both raised by great parents. So what are you? An academic gangster?
“I don’t know where this persona comes from my brother. You say you are going to knock me out, but when I say it I am being disrespectful?”
TKV then labelled Adeleye as "scared" which as expected, did not go down well with the man known as ‘Big D’.
“All this educated gangster, I am just being myself. Of course it is personal, we are fighting in 48 hours. You don’t see a scared man, where do you see fear in me? Scared of what?
"You can ask me what happened at talkSPORT on Monday, I just cussed his weight, I cussed his appearance and he is obviously insecure about it. He’s got this cameraman, this Harry Hill looking guy recording and editing in a certain way.
“I did want to take this fight, me and you spoke on the phone and your managers were calling mine. What are you talking about?”
The Co-op Live then descended into an arena for a shouting match as the two heavyweights looked to land the knockout blow in verbal warfare.
Tensions quickly rose with Adeleye frequently slamming the table and as bottles, name tags and broadcast equipment tumbled to the floor, TKV decided to go one better and flip the table on the other side of the stage.
A brief silence fell across the room while every camera and smartphone captured a heavyweight explosion before TKV exited the room and was never to be seen again for the rest of the day.
With no press conference face off, the anticipation will build once more ahead of Friday’s weigh-in.
Will Adeleye and TKV go face-to-face? If so, don’t be surprised if they get the party started early in Manchester’s biggest and flashiest entertainment venue.
Warren’s new era off to the best possible start
While Frank Warren got out his seat to diffuse the situation following the table flip, he could not have wished for a better moment to entice more boxing fans to witness the start of this new era for British boxing.
Warren’s show this Saturday will be the first of a broadcast partnership with DAZN with the veteran promoter and Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn now on the same platform which in the past was a pipedream for British boxing fans.
It’s a move which has been praised by fans and those within the industry including former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton who labelled this move ‘a good thing for boxing.
Speaking at Thursday’s press conference, Warren is excited for the possibilities this broadcast partnership will bring, but the 73-year-old is a competitive figure within the sport of boxing, and he is looking to make Queensberry the best promoter on the DAZN platform.
“Saturday is a new era for us, we are on DAZN and we will be seen worldwide, which is a great, great showcase for all the fighters,” Warren said.
“We are competitive, like the boxers and certainly like the rest of the promoters on DAZN, we aim to be the best and put the best shows on and our start is a fabulous one.”
Joyce vs Hrgovic kicks off an exciting Queensberry schedule on DAZN with Anthony Cacace and Leigh Wood’s super featherweight clash to follow on May 10, and Josh Taylor’s welterweight debut against Ekow Essuman on May 24 in Glasgow.
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