The British heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and David Adeleye has become one of the most talked about fights in British boxing. The pair will meet in Saudi Arabia on the undercard of the Tyson Fury - Francis Ngannou clash.
There have been numerous confrontations since Adeleye was installed as Wardley’s mandatory challenger after Frazer Clarke was withdrawn from the purse bid to fight the unbeaten champion from Ipswich.
Matters reached a boiling point on the red carpet at the recent Fury - Ngannou press conference. Adeleye (12-0, 11 KO’s) shoved Wardley (16-0, 15 KO’s) and the champion emerged from the ensuring melee with a tiny cut by his left eye and a more serious gash on his chin. Matters got out of hand in London and Adeleye’s pre-fight antics have transformed the fight from an intriguing clash of prospects into a must see grudge match.
“It’s a good fight. There’s no doubt about that. Everybody has got a view of it,” Warren told BoxingScene. “There’s a bit of needle about it now, there’s no doubt about that and I think we’re gonna get something a little bit special out in Saudi.”
“He [Wardley] is entitled to be [pissed off]. I get that,” said Warren, who promotes Adeleye. “David is a smart kid. He’s not a dummy.
“We’ve got behind our man because we wanted to make the fight. Wardley’s no schmuck, he really fancies it too. This is gonna be interesting there’s no doubt about that.”
Last Friday, the British Boxing Board of Control issued their monthly championship circular and declared that: ‘the British Championship will not be sanctioned for this bout.'
Because the fight will take place in Saudi Arabia and not on British soil, the title will not be on the line in Riyadh. It does seem to be a particularly old fashioned piece of thinking. The money on offer means that the fight will go ahead regardless of whether the belt is on the line or not. The winner will be the true British heavyweight champion but by not allowing the title to be contested, the Board are opening the door to a whole load of future confusion which could easily be avoided.
The decision also harms the fighters, Wardley would be denied a defence of his title (which could be crucial if he holds ambitions to complete three title defences and win the beautiful Lonsdale Belt outright) and Adeleye would be denied the glory of winning one of the most prestigious titles in boxing. Warren hasn’t given up on the matter just yet.
“I don’t know about that yet,” Warren said. “That’s a nonsense. The Board of Control allowed a title fight to take place in Dublin [when Tony Oakey and Brian Magee boxed to a draw in 2007]. They’ve done it before. What are they saying? That the guys have gotta fight in the UK for a quarter of the money for the same fight? Bullsh!t.
“People can watch it on TV but I could put that fight on a dinner show in front of 500 people?”