Jeamie Tshikeva and Frazer Clarke were due to go head-to-head for the vacant British heavyweight title in what promised to be a historic night for the BBC but the fight has been pushed back
Jeamie Tshikeva has been forced to pull out of his heavyweight showdown with Frazer Clarke after sustaining an injury in training. The 31-year-old was due to face Clarke for the vacant British heavyweight title on October 25 at Vaillant Live in Derby, but TKV picked up a rib injury in training and has ultimately postponed his return to the ring.
TKV was looking to get back in the win column after suffering a gruelling knockout defeat to David Adeleye back in April. After being handed the first loss of his professional career by Fabio Wardley back in October 2024, Clarke returned to the win column earlier this year when he knocked out Ebenezer Tetteh in just under two minutes.
The fight has officially been rescheduled for November 29, meaning that instead of clashing with Wardley’s showdown with Joseph Parker next weekend, Tshikeva vs Clarke will take place on the same night as Ben Whittaker’s debut fight with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom outfit. Boxxer Founder and CEO Ben Shalom commented: “Injuries are part of the sport.
“While it’s disappointing to reschedule, the safety of our fighters must always come first. Jeamie suffered an injury in training and the medical advice was he can’t compete.
“I’ve spoken to both fighters and of course they’re disappointed but it means there’s an extra edge to the fight on November 29. Frazer feels he’s ready to win right now and is frustrated at having to completely change his training plan.
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“Jeamie will be desperate to prove he’s fighting fit and capable of beating Frazer. They have been quite respectful of each other up to now, but it feels like that’s changing as emotions are running high on both sides.”
Most notably, the fight would have represented the first outing of Boxxer’s new broadcast agreement with the BBC. Back in August, Shalom’s promotion confirmed the news, bringing top-flight boxing back to free-to-air television. In 2021, Boxxer penned a four-year deal with Sky and – following the conclusion of the contract – the pay-per-view broadcaster opted to not extend the partnership.
Over the next year, the BBC will air fights from selected events across its channels as well as iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. Clarke’s clash with TKV would have been shown live on BBC Two from 8pm to 10pm UK time, with the undercard streamed on BBC iPlayer.
Speaking about the partnership, Shalom said: “Partnering with the BBC to deliver big-time British boxing on Saturday night TV is a historic moment. We’re proud to bring the most entertaining British fighters to the biggest possible audience. This huge platform will give our fights the exposure they deserve and helps us take the sport to huge new audiences.”
Director of BBC Sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, added: “Bringing professional boxing back to primetime BBC television, free-to-air, and to our extensive digital platforms is an exciting moment for us and for boxing fans. Boxing is a sport that we know deeply resonates with younger audiences and this deal with BOXXER enables us to showcase the next generation of British fighters – delivering top-tier national boxing moments to all audiences, wherever and however they want it.”
In 1938, the BBC aired the first televised boxing match in the UK: Eric Boon vs Arthur Danahar. In the decades since, the popular broadcaster has shown several iconic professional boxing events, including including Joe Frazier vs Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman – which was the first live heavyweight title fight on BBC for over a decade.