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David Adeleye's British title stoppage win over Jeamie TKV overshadowed by controversy
MANCHESTER, England - David Adeleye is the new British heavyweight champion after a sixth round stoppage win at the Co-op Live, but not without some controversy.
This second crack at domestic honours came 17 months after Adeleye was on the wrong end of brutal knockout by Fabio Wardley for the same title who was watching ringside.
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The tension for this title fight went up a notch on Thursday following TKV’s table flip at the final press conference, and a different sort of atmosphere filled the Co-op Live. It was one of excitement, unpredictability and the expectation that something explosive will happen.
The opening bell prompted mostly silent besides the odd chant of “TKV” from a man with an already hoarse throat ringside. A tense opening round saw neither man give very little away with an Adeleye right hand partly landing.
TKV aimed to frustrate Adeleye in the second session with an early clinch which had to be broken up by the referee. TKV managed to find his range with the jab, but Adeleye always carries a threat with his punching power and left-right hook combination to close the round saw him begin to make inroads.
An Adeleye right uppercut to the body with just under two minutes remaining in round three generated a few gasps from the crowd with TKV offering very little back besides a stiff left jab in the final seconds of the session.
With frustration beginning to grow inside the arena, Adeleye attempted to make things interesting by letting his hands go in the fourth, TKV however realised the threat his opponent posed and would revert to clinching to frustrate his rival.
Promoter Frank Warren barked at Adeleye to showcase the knockout power which made him an entertaining talent at the start of the fifth session. Adeleye acted on these instructions with a three-punch combination, but this was the only highlight. With the bell sounding at the end of the round, Adeleye shrugged his shoulders as if he was running out of ideas.
As round six was barely 10 seconds old, Adeleye unleashed a left hook which caught TKV and sent him to the canvas. TKV, on rocky legs met the referee’s count which prompted Adeleye to pounce and unleash numerous punches on his foe. TKV once again found himself on the ring floor and just like before rose to his feet.
The referee however had seen enough and stopped the contest with Adeleye crowned the British champion.
Outrage followed from TKV’s corner and at first it looked like it was due to the referee making the call too early. Then when looking at the replays ringside, the referee Ron Kearney tapped a hold of TKV’s hand as he called break seconds before he was hit by Adeleye's left hook for the first knockdown.
Whenever controversy strikes in a high-profile boxing bout, it can spark emotional reactions from those competing. However, despite the odd verbal jibes at one another, Adeleye and TKV showed each other respect and shook hands after a British title fight which burst into life.
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