The newly crowned British heavyweight champion, David Adeleye, is willing to have a rematch with Jeamie TKV. This comes after their recent fight, where Adeleye won by a sixth-round stoppage, which has been heavily debated.
Adeleye and TKV fought last Saturday at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. Both boxers were competing for the vacant Lonsdale Belt, on the undercard of the Joe Joyce versus Filip Hrgovic fight.
The first five rounds were not very exciting. TKV, with a record of 8 wins and 2 losses, seemed to be slightly ahead on points because he was throwing more punches than Adeleye.
In the sixth round, Adeleye, who has 14 wins and 1 loss, landed a short left hook that knocked TKV down. Adeleye then followed up with more punches.
However, the controversy arose because the left hook was thrown right after the referee, Ron Kearney, had called for a break from a clinch. Kearney had indicated that it was safe for the fighters to separate.
Adding to the controversy, referee Kearney had also put his hand on TKV`s glove just before the punch. This happened before TKV could fully defend himself, which is a basic rule in boxing: “Protect yourself at all times.”
Shortly after the knockdown, the referee stopped the fight. TKV`s corner was shocked by the decision, especially since they believed TKV was slightly winning before the stoppage.
Adeleye has largely dismissed the criticisms about the legitimacy of his win.
In a recent post on Instagram, Adeleye, who is 28 years old, pointed out that TKV had also landed a hook after a break in the second round of their fight.
Despite this, and even including a video clip of TKV throwing body shots before the sixth-round knockdown, Adeleye has said he is interested in an immediate rematch.
“The knockout was valid,” Adeleye wrote on Instagram. “I’m aware of the comments [TKV’s] team made, so I’m open to a rematch. There’s no need for questions, debate, or confusion.”
