Jeamie ‘TKV’ Tshikeva delivered a sizable upset against Frazer Clarke to become the new British heavyweight champion.
The Londoner defeated his exhausted rival via split decision after 12 gruelling rounds in Saturday night’s delayed title showdown at Derby’s Vaillant Live Arena, the first boxing event to be shown live on primetime linear BBC television for more than 20 years.
Two judges scored the absorbing bout in his favour, 115-113 and 115-112, while a third had Clarke winning, 115-112. TKV had his hand raised despite seeing a point deducted early on by referee John Latham for repeated low blows.
He picked up the prestigious Lonsdale belt in boxing’s traditional glamour division at the second attempt, having been controversially stopped in the sixth round by rival David Adeleye in Manchester back in April.
An immediate rematch was ordered by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) following an appeal by promoters Boxxer, with Adeleye instead choosing to vacate the title as he pursued a summer showdown with Filip Hrgovic in Riyadh.
TKV improved his professional record to 9-2, while a crestfallen Clarke - who left the ring immediately after his latest loss - dropped to 9-2-1 as his attempts to rediscover some momentum following a brutal early knockout defeat in his rematch with now WBO champion Fabio Wardley were quickly dashed.
On Saturday night’s undercard, the unbeaten Francesca Hennessy easily stepped up on her 10-round debut to dominate former WBC atomweight world champion Fabiana Bytyqi, winning every round as she successfully claimed the WBC International bantamweight title before calling for a future meeting against former WBA champion Shannon Courtenay.
Jack ‘One Smack’ Massey recovered from a shock first-round knockdown to stop heavy-handed Argentine Ivan Gabriel Garcia in the fourth of an explosive cruiserweight clash, potentially teeing up an all-British showdown against former WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith in the New Year.
Joel Kodua - with training partner Anthony Yarde watching on from ringside - moved to 10-0 and took the English welterweight title from a battered and bloodied but brave Bobby Dalton in another gruelling encounter than went the distance despite Dalton sustaining nasty facial injuries.
Coventry middleweight Bradley Goldsmith eased to a comfortable points win over late replacement opponent Jordan Dujon, while there were early victories for Scott Melvin and Josh Rose over Harvey Sturton and Jorge Luis Huerta Balleza respectively.
