Solomon Dacres beaten in 80 seconds on night to forget
Smethwick heavyweight Solomon Dacres endured a night to forget as he was knocked out in 80 seconds by David Adeleye.
The defeat, which also saw the 31-year-old lose his English title, was the first of his professional career but a particularly damaging one for a fighter with aspirations of reaching the very top of the sport.
Dacres had hoped a win over former WBO European champion Adeleye would put him in contention to face British champion Fabio Wardley.
Yet it is instead Adeleye who is likely to get that honour after the Londoner showed a devastating display of power to finish the contest at Wembley Arena before it had barely begun.
Dacres did not have chance to land a meaningful shot before being sent sprawling to the canvas by a left hook. Though it initially appeared the punch had not landed cleanly, replays showed it had struck the top of Dacres’ head, referee Darren Sarginson quickly waving off the fight as the Midlands’ man struggled to regain his feet.
The fighters, both managed by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, had engaged in a war of words in the build-up to the bout but it was Adeleye who definitively came out on top once the bell sounded. Dacres, who began his career at Warley ABC, now faces a period of rebuilding after his maiden pro defeat.
