David Adeleye has been noticeable by his absence since October 2023.
The 28 year old hasn’t been seen since being stopped by Fabio Wardley in a British heavyweight title fight in Saudi Arabia.
Adeleye, 13-1 (12 KOs), took his time to rebuild from that defeat. He assessed his career, began working with Adam Booth, and retreated into the gym.
Rather than taking a gimme warm-up fight, Adeleye chose to emerge directly into a meaningful crossroads fight.
A defeat by Solomon Dacres, 9-1 (3 KOs), on Saturday night at Wembley Arena would have dealt a catastrophic blow to his career.
In the end, Adeleye displayed exactly why he chose such a route back, and believes that he sent a message to the rest of the heavyweight division by blowing away the previously unbeaten English champion inside a round.
“I’ve still got a lot to do,” Adeleye told TNT Sports. “I’m gonna go back to the gym, Adam wants a lot from me. He’s a hard man to please. I’ve got a big future ahead of me – that’s just one of the steps to get there.
“I’m a strong-minded individual and I’ve got a good support group around me. I went back to the gym [after the loss to Wardley]. Me and Adam worked; he had me grafting and he had me work from the basics. There were times when he wouldn’t take me on the pads, ‘Go and hit the bag’. There were times when I’d come to the gym and he’d just about say hello.
“He was doing certain things on purpose and I knew he was doing it to see how much I wanted it and I proved it to him. I showed him what I could do; he asked me to do a lot of things that I provided.”
Adeleye has always, clearly, had ability but a string of early knockouts may have masked his inexperience and – on reflection – the Wardley fight probably came 12 months too soon for him. Adeleye is smart outside the ring and he has matured during his time away from the spotlight.
There were no bold claims or outrageous statements after the fight. Beating the previously undefeated Dacres, 31, so conclusively puts him directly into the mix for some major opportunities, and he suddenly appears much better placed to take them.
“The fight was meant to happen a few months ago but I got injured,” he said. “I think that was his sign from God not to take it but he still did. We’re here now, I got it done.
“Kudos to Solomon. I hope he’s got a good support group around him because boxing gives you good highs but it can give you some bad lows so I hope he’s got some good people around him to push him through.”
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