Heavyweight prospect David Adeleye 12-1 (11) wants the opportunity to avenge his loss to Fabio Wardley 17-0 (16) on the weekend.
Boxing on the undercard of the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou fight at the Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, the 26-year-old Brit was trailing on all three cards 55-59, 55-59 and 54-60 in his fight for the vacant Commonwealth title when he was knocked out at the 2:43 mark of the seventh round.
Fellow Brit Wardley, 28, dropped him with a left hook and finished him off with a flurry, forcing referee John Latham to step in and stop the contest. A clearly disappointed Adeleye shoved Latham backwards in a sign of frustration.
“I think my game management was wrong, my just legs weren’t with me,” Adeleye told TNT Sports.
“I’m a man, humble in victory and humble in defeat. He got me with a jab and a thumb went into my eye. I couldn’t really see him.
“I aimed to throw a shot to gauge where he was. Listen, I ain’t lost a fight in God knows how many years in the amateurs. Every loss I did have, I avenged.
“Hopefully the rematch is on the cards. I’m pissed the referee stopped me, I was still there, give me another 10 seconds.
“I’ve never been down. I just about beat the count. I don’t know when to get up, I don’t go over in fights.
“Credit to him, I’m a fighting man, I’m 26. People can ridicule me online. Hopefully we can run it back. I want Wardley again.”
Adeleye is fast becoming known as something of a villain after attacking Wardley on the red carpet at an event to announce the fight.
“Disappointment with being associated with something like that,” recalled Wardley of his dust-up with Adeleye to Sky Sports.
“I’ve done a lot in my career. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the back and forth. I understand a bit of mouth here and there, but for it to turn into something physical and for it to take away from the fantastic event that was – the red carpet, the press conference.
“It was supposed to be a massive event, watched by millions. We were supposed to be on the big press conference stage and we got to announce ourselves and get that exposure and lap up the moment really – and all that was taken away by some silly people with some silly antics.
“Nothing in my career has ever led me to do anything like that. I’m not that type of professional. I respect the sport and everything that it’s about. It’s just disappointing that I’m associated with something like that.”
Wardley told Queensberry Promotions before the fight that he doesn’t rate Adeleye.
“He is what he is. He’s useless for the most part,” he said.
“He’s not really done too much. He’s got a loud mouth and a lot to say for himself with not a lot of substance to back it up. I think that’s the difference in us.
