The first show of the BBC’s new boxing deal with Boxxer is up in the air, with Jeamie TKV – one half of the main event – having reportedly suffered an injury.
The Briton was due to face compatriot Frazer Clarke on 25 October, at Derby’s Vaillant Live arena, with the vacant British heavyweight title on the line.
However, a rib injury has apparently forced TKV, 31, out of that fight. It is currently unclear whether Clarke – an Olympic bronze medalist – will face a fresh opponent, be removed from the show, or whether the event itself will be cancelled.
The Independent has reached out to a representative of Boxxer for comment.
TKV (real surname Tshikeva) last fought in April, suffering a controversial knockout loss to David Adeleye – in another fight for the vacant British title. Adeleye punched and dropped TKV after the referee had called for the fighters to “break” from a clinch, yet Adeleye was not punished for the indiscretion. After TKV rose to his feet, he was dropped again and counted out.
Clarke last competed in April, too, stopping Ebenezer Tetteh in the first round to bounce back from an early knockout loss to Wardley. Previously, 33-year-old Clarke and Wardley fought to a draw. The British heavyweight title was on the line in both of their fights.
TKV vs Clarke had been scheduled for 9pm BST, so as to avoid clashing with the heavyweight title fight between Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley at London’s O2 Arena.
Boxxer, led by founder and CEO Ben Shalom, announced a multi-year deal with the BBC in August, at the conclusion of the promotion’s four-year deal with Sky Sports.
A press release in August said boxing will get a spot on “Saturday night primetime television” with the BBC, a free-to-air broadcaster, whose iPlayer app will also stream certain fights.
In 1938, the BBC in fact aired the first televised boxing match in the UK: Eric Boon vs Arthur Danahar. The broadcaster has sporadically shown professional boxing in the decades since, but its deal with Boxxer marks its first consistent output of the sport in many years.
Viewers will be accustomed to the BBC airing amateur boxing, however, which it does at each edition of the Olympic Games.
