Heavyweights Solomon Dacres and David Adeleye are done with the talking

After a number of delays, Solomon Dacres will finally defend his English heavyweight title against David Adeleye in a real crossroads fight on December 7.

The winner will edge a step closer to the big opportunities and paydays currently available in the heavyweight division, the loser may find it difficult to ever truly escape the confines of a competitive British scene. 

2024 has been a frustrating year for both fighters but for different reasons.

Adeleye, 12-1 (11 KOs), picked up a temporary suspension for his behavior in the immediate aftermath of his loss to Fabio Wardley last December and was then sidelined by injury.

Dacres, 9-0 (3 KOs), has spent his year waiting to get Adeleye in the ring. A proposed March date fell through and his only action of the year came in July. Dacres stopped Michael Webster in seven rounds after Adeleye was ruled out.  

The pair are now just two weeks away from getting in the ring and sat down for a “Locked In” faceoff for Queensberry.

“Ask the man,” Dacres said when questioned as to why the fight has taken so long to come together. “I’ve been active, he’s been more inactive. He had the injury, I haven’t been that active but I fought last time out and I was ready to fight so, on my behalf, I’ve just been ready to do the job.”

“I knew about the fight once, which was in July,” Adeleye countered. “I had my injury and now it’s being scheduled for December.

“I think that’s just his selling point to make the fight bigger than what it is but it’s not that deep, man. It’s just we’re going to fight in December. I can tell he’s not a bad person so I don’t need to rip into him. I ain’t got to be the villain in every fight. It’s not the thing. He ain’t like that so I ain’t got to start cussing him, but if that’s what gets his dick hard – saying that I pulled out – then so be it. We’re going to fight in December.”

At the time, Adeleye’s British title fight with Wardley was seen as the type of meaningful fight that reveals a lot about young heavyweight prospects.

Adeleye spoke confidently beforehand, but Wardley proved to be too good on the night and stopped the Londoner in seven rounds. If the aggressive, heavy handed Adeleye’s confidence was shaken by the defeat, he isn’t showing it. 

“Solomon’s a good boxer – that’s what he’s known for – but I’m a better boxer,” he said.

“Everything. I ain’t even gotta go into it. Everything. Punch selection. IQ. Ring generalship. All of that. 

“I don’t know if he believes he’s going to beat me. You believe in yourself to a degree, when you get in there it’s like you’re racing a Ferrari on foot.”

Dacres remains unbeaten but has yet to be tested in the way Adeleye was by Wardley. He is a skillful boxer but has attracted criticism for displaying a lack of urgency in some fights. He has all of the physical attributes required of a top heavyweight and was a top amateur, winning national titles and boxing for Team GB. He has yet to put everything together as a professional but, at 31, must click through the gears and beat someone like Adeleye if he is to fulfill his potential. 

Dacres isn’t concerned in the slightest by Adeleye’s declarations but although he believes that he is the better man, he knows that the time has come to prove it. 

“That’s his belief and my belief is different, obviously,” he said. “I believe I’ve got those advantages but all that matters is who can display that physically. It’s all good saying it verbally, but who displays it physically on the night, that’s what matters.

“I think, deep down, David knows it’ll be a tough fight for him. 

“If you’re afraid of getting hurt, you’re in the wrong game aren’t you? The hurt game is the heavyweight division. We’re all aware of big shots in this game, that’s what happens. It’s about how you overcome it.

“I’m just a better fighter. A better boxer. That’s what it is.”

Despite a relatively short career, the outspoken Adeleye has already been involved in his fair share of pre-fight incidents. 

Whether he has realized that Dacres isn’t the type of character to rise to any insults he throws out or whether he has decided that every percentage of his focus needs to be on what happens in the ring rather than outside it, he has pledged to do his talking with his fists on December 7.

“I lost, yeah. Amateur, pro, I’ve hurt every single person I’ve hit with those 10oz gloves. Let’s not sugarcoat it. I’m a knockout specialist, I bang people out,” he said.

“I’m not trying to act a certain way or become a villain and mess up my own endorsement deals and all of these things over a Solomon Dacres because it doesn’t need to happen over him. When it needs to happen, it’s gonna happen. Energy is reciprocated.”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79