David Adeleye stopped Jeamie Tshikeva to lay claim to the British heavyweight title under controversial circumstances.

In the sixth round, while both men were in the clinch, referee Ron Kearney tapped Tshikeva’s gloves and shouted ‘break’.

Adeleye recorded a sixth-round KO win - but fans weren't happy with the ending
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Adeleye recorded a sixth-round KO win – but fans weren’t happy with the ending
However, as soon as Tshikeva’s hands lowered, Adeleye proceeded to floor his rival with a big left hook.

Despite the shot landing well after the referee’s intervention, Kearney administered a count as Tshikeva made his way back to his feet on unsteady legs.

As he did, Adeleye came hurtling in and decked Tshikeva again to, this time, close the show.

Tshikeva’s corner protested the stoppage while the DAZN commentary was left stunned by the officiating.

“He’s touched his hands,” said former world champion Barry Jones.

“I tell you what, they have a point there.

“He has touched the fighter’s hand. They could appeal this.”

The reaction online was one of outrage.

One supporter wrote: “Gets worse the more you see it.

“He physically pushed TKV’s hands down. Pathetic from the ref.

Adeleye dropped his rival in the sixth round of their dust-up
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Adeleye dropped his rival in the sixth round of their dust-upCredit: DAZN Boxing

Tshikeva was down for a second time shortly after getting back to his feet
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Tshikeva was down for a second time shortly after getting back to his feetCredit: DAZN Bozing

The referee quickly waved away the contest - much to the anger of Tshikeva's corner
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The referee quickly waved away the contest – much to the anger of Tshikeva’s cornerCredit: DAZN Boxing

HUGE DRAMA 😮

The referee Ron Kearney taps Jeamie Tshikeva's hand to break and Tshikeva then gets caught by a HUGE left hook with Adeleye finishing him off the back of it! 🤯

Thoughts?#AdeleyeTshikeva | #JoyceHrgovic | #Knockout pic.twitter.com/IVh6YjtwPN

— IFL TV (@IFLTV) April 5, 2025\n\n\n”,”width”:550,”height”:550,”provider”:”twitter”,”attribs”:{“data-tweetid”:”1908626022573982156″}}” data-provider=”twitter” data-widget-name=”embed” data-widget-id=”embed-e43713b7″>

“Nothing against Adeleye, he did what he had to in the moment. But the ref needs questioning.”

Another posted: “Disgusting decision. TKV was robbed, he was winning the fight up until that point.

“The ref said break and took hold of his hand and Adeleye hit him after the ref said break.”

A third added: “That was embarrassing refereeing. The referee did everything to help Adelaye through the fight and the ending is terrible refereeing.”

This fan then messaged: “Surely this gets called a no contest, I wouldn’t want to see that fight again but a rematch should be ordered and referee suspended.”

Meanwhile, another simply stated: “Fair play to Adeleye for not overplaying the win. The referee said break and grabbed TKV, though.”

Tshikeva was counted out in controversial circumstances
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Tshikeva was counted out in controversial circumstancesCredit: Getty
Tshikeva’s promoter Ben Shalom has now vowed to challenge the decision.

“What I’ve just witnessed was one of the most disgraceful things I’ve seen in my career,” Shalom told The Ring.

“To see a referee call ‘break’ twice, take someone’s arm and for him to actually count him out was one of the most crazy pieces of refereeing I’ve ever seen.

“It has to be overturned. I’m not even blaming David Adeleye, the referee has had an absolute nightmare, Jeamie was cruising the fight, it was getting easier for him in there, I was thinking ‘how’s he switched off there?’ from where I was. And then I saw the ref.

“It’s unbelievable, actually unbelievable, there’s no other result, David Adeleye didn’t win that fight, it has to be overturned.”

talkSPORT hosted live commentary of the fight and pundits Adam Catterall and John Rawling took aim at the referee.

His camp have vowed to challenge the decision
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His camp have vowed to challenge the decisionCredit: Getty
Catterall said: “The official announcement is a technical knockout in favour of David Adeleye, but the debate is raging ringside right now because it’s quite clear. We heard the referee say break, step back.

“Now the pictures that we are watching ringside show that he was interfering with both fighters at the time of the knockout.”

Rawling added: “They appointed a referee who in my opinion was totally utterly out of his depth from the very early stages in the fight.

“It’s all very well sort of saying David Adeleye shouldn’t have done this shouldn’t have done that. The fault is with the ref who was clearly hopeless tonight.

“It also reflects very badly on those within the Boxing Board of Control who actually decided that he should be the man to take charge of that fight. He was out of his depth.”