Referee Ron Kearney, from Sunderland, England, has been called before the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) to explain his actions while stopping the vacant British heavyweight title fight between David Adeleye and Jeamie “TKV” Tshikeva on April 25.

The hearing will take place in June – though communication with all referees is underway to prevent a similar scenario unfolding again.

Adeleye won the bout with TKV, previously in control of the contest, ruled in no state to continue in the sixth round yet the point of contention occurred directly before.

With the fighters in a clinch, and TKV holding the body of Adeleye with his left hand, Kearney twice ordered the boxers to “break”. On the second occasion, the official slapped the offending glove of TKV, pushing it down in the process. Immediately, Adeleye launched a left hook to the unguarded chin of TKV who then crumpled to the canvas. The referee began the count, thus ruling it a legitimate knockdown, and though TKV would beat it he was visibly woozy and on unsteady legs. Adeleye’s follow-up barrage dropped his opponent again and Kearney stepped in to call a halt.

“We have seen the written report from the referee, but we need more,” Robert Smith, the General Secretary of the BBBoC, told BoxingScene. “We have questions that he will need to answer.”

Asked whether action is likely be taken against Kearney, who was overseeing his first major bout as an A star grade referee, Smith declined to comment without first hearing the referee’s side of the story. He did add that officials being called to explain themselves was commonplace, however.

According to British boxing rules, there is a difference between the instructions of ‘break’ and ‘stop boxing’. On this occasion, only the former – in essence an order to stop holding as opposed to fighting – was used.

Yet the act of pushing down TKV’s glove seconds before he was caught cold is something that Smith doesn’t want to see occur in a British ring again.

“We have sent memos out to all referees to make it clear that it shouldn’t be done,” Smith said. “We are dealing with that. The referee shouldn’t touch the boxer unless they’re in a situation where they have to physically break them up or they’re stepping in to stop the contest.”

Last week, the BBBoC ruled that the victory for Adeleye will stand though an immediate rematch has been ordered, with purse bids to be received on May 14.