Jeamie TKV targets Dave Allen for first defense of British heavyweight title.
TKV upset Olympic bronze medalist Fraser Clarke in a hard-fought 12-round battle for the belt in Lonsdale on Saturday, winning by a split but deserved decision.
Having previously been close to boxing Allen, TKV still wants to pursue that fight.
“The (British Boxing) board chose Fraser Clarke over Dave Allen (for the title fight) because Fraser Clarke beat Dave Allen. But I still want to explore that option,” said the new British champion Ski Sports News.
“I still feel like it’s a worthy fight to have and a worthwhile fight. So I feel like Dave Allen is probably the right opponent for me next.”
“Dave Allen is the name I would probably go for.”
Allen lost his last fight when he was outpointed by Aslanbek Mahmudov in October, but he stopped Johnny Fisher in five rounds earlier this year and remains one of the most popular figures on the British fight scene.
But after defeating Clark, TKV is confident of victory. “No matter who I’m fighting, I’m keeping that title,” said the Londoner.
TKV is convinced he was on the verge of knocking Clark out when he rocked the Olympian badly in the 11th round of their bout.
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“I thought I was going to get him out of there, but to be honest, I got so excited that I got tired. I started winging left, right, forgetting about any boxing technique,” he said.
“I should have taken my time with him but I forgot my boxing techniques. One of the left hooks made me fall over, he fell on top of me and that bought him time.
“But I went at him anyway, he handled it pretty well and when he got back to the corner his legs were shaky.
TKV added: “In the corner Angel (Fernandez), his coach asked him: ‘Are you with us? Are you there?’ but he didn’t really react. His seconds and everyone else around him thought it would be best to put him back there because they probably felt there was another round where he could win the fight on points.
“But that could have been risky in itself because he could have taken another big hit and we don’t know what could have happened.”
TKV will be riding a wave of goodwill himself after this latest win in that anticipated title fight with Allen.
“When people underestimate and you do a little better than they estimate, it’s always better. People appreciate you more,” he said.
“I prefer to be the underdog in every fight.”