Solomon Dacres vs David Adeleye Predictions: Heavyweight showdown could open doors

Solomon Dacres defends the English heavyweight title against David Adeleye this Saturday, December 7. The bout takes place on Frank Warren’s latest ‘Magnificent 7’ card at the Wembley Arena. Brad Pauls’ British title fight with challenger Denzel Bentley headlines a stacked evening with TNT Sports televising.

Here are my Dacres vs Adeleye predictions ahead of this heavy-hitting occasion.

This one is a case of better late than never, after Adeleye pulled out of a scheduled summer meeting between the pair. It is good to see this fight revived, though. It represents a fascinating challenge at this stage of each man’s respective careers.

Dacres is 9-0 and is coming off two rough-and-tumble bouts with Michael Webster over the English crown. The first saw Dacres take a majority decision, though plenty of observers liked Webster’s work more. The rematch was far more decisive, with ‘The Real Deal’ retaining his belt with a seventh-round TKO.

Adeleye has been out of the ring for over a year now, regrouping after being crushed in seven rounds by Fabio Wardley. Considering what his conqueror has gone on to do, there is little shame in that defeat. But it did raise questions over the once-hyped Adeleye, queries that got ever louder when he withdrew from the Dacres fight initially.

But Adeleye has put that right and proved his intentions. Now he has to deal with the confident, unbeaten heavyweight in front of him. This really is a knife-edge division and redemption is no further away than obscurity. Zhilei Zhang, Joseph Parker, Derek Chisora and Daniel Dubois have all buried defeats in recent years with spectacular victories that put them right back in the mix. If Adeleye dominates Dacres, suddenly the Wardley reverse is undone.

Adeleye is certainly the puncher in this scenario. Dacres has halted a third of his nine foes. Meanwhile, durable old fox Kamil Sokolowski is the only fighter to take Adeleye the distance in his 12 wins. It is simplistic to say, but so many heavyweight fights have been settled by pure, raw knockout power.

It is that element that made Adeleye’s brief rise so enthralling. On reflection, he took on the Wardley assignment too soon. A symptom perhaps of how underrated the Suffolk man has been. Wardley is now a world-ranked heavyweight contender. Adeleye can still get there, but he has to perform on Saturday.

This fight is a brave leap for both fighters. Dacres fights the best opponent he has met in his career. Adeleye forgoes a tune-up and goes in with a boxer who is considered a real threat. The Riyadh Season era, in which top heavyweights have routinely squared off, seems to be having a trickle down effect. 

Adeleye knows what it’s like to step into the glitzy Saudi ring, having fought Wardley on the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou prelims. A win over Dacres is his route back to that richly-rewarding merry-go-round. 

Equally, Dacres has a chance to crystallise his early promise into a seat at the table. A big victory at Wembley Arena will open up a world of possibilities in 2025. One of these two men can end 2024 with a bang.

Dacres vs Adeleye Fight Odds

Adeleye is the favourite here, but it is pretty close. You can back ‘Big D’ at 8/13. The champion is 13/10 to pull off a career-best win while a draw is marketed at 14/1.

Dacres vs Adeleye Full Card

Brad Pauls vs. Denzel Bentley

Sam Noakes vs. Ryan Walsh

Solomon Dacres vs. David Adeleye

Lawrence Okolie vs. Hussein Muhamed

Aloys Youmbi vs. Lewis Oakford

Sean Noakes vs. Mathew Rennie

Pierce O'Leary vs. TBA

Royston Barney-Smith vs. Andres Navarrete

Billy Adams vs. Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira

George Crotty vs. Dylan Courtney

Dacres vs Adeleye Prediction

Frazer Clarke’s travails show that a beating at the hands of Wardley is not easy to get over. Couple that with a year out of the ring and I fear for Adeleye here.

Dacres was shown up at times in the first Webster fight but he maintained composure. I think he learned a lot there and you saw evidence in the rematch.

With all this in mind, I like Dacres to rely on his boxing skills and edge this one on points at 100/30.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.