WHY RETIRED BOXERS ARE FINDING THE CARROT THAT IS BARE KNUCKLE BOXING TOO HARD TO RESIST
The growth of Bare Knuckle Boxing over the past 10 years has been quite simply remarkable.
After the first licensed show in over a century took place in June 2015, it’s gone from strength to strength, with broadcasters such as DAZN now jumping on the bandwagon and partnering with the leading organisation BKFC to broadcast multiple shows a month.
With this growth comes more participation.
It was originally active MMA fighters making the move over, with the likes of Mike Perry, Jeremy Stephens and Ben Rothwell all taking the BKFC by storm. But now, we are seeing more retired professional boxers making the switch and that started as early as 2019 when Paulie Malignaggi took the plunge and made his Bare Knuckle debut.
The first known boxer in the UK to do so was Welshman Barrie Jones. An area champion as a professional, he retired with a record of 22-10 at the end of 2015.
He made the switch to Bare Knuckle Boxing three years later and went undefeated in his first 10 fights, with nine of those wins coming by stoppage. Quite a start.
Heavyweight journeymen Dorian Darch and Kamil Sokolowski have followed Jones to BYB, but it’s BKFC where some of the biggest names in the world are heading.
Former world title challenger Austin Trout made his pro Bare Knuckle debut in February 2023 and became world welterweight champion in just his second fight a year later.
It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for ex-professionals, though.
The likes of Frankie Gavin, Jamie Cox and Ryan Aston ALL lost on debut on the same card in Birmingham back in June, so it’s clear that the skills aren’t really transitioning that well.
The biggest British name to date to turn to Bare Knuckle Boxing is Olympic gold medallist and former IBF World Super-Welterweight champion James DeGale.
After losing his last fight as a professional boxer to Chris Eubank Jr in 2019, DeGale had taken himself out of the spotlight to focus on his life outside of the ring. But earlier this month, completely out of the blue, it was confirmed that he will headline a BKFC show in Manchester on 27 September.
On a card that will also feature former pros such as Travis Dickinson, Jack Cullen and Nav Mansouri, DeGale will be looking to begin his quest to become a world champion in a second sport.
So, what is it that makes Bare Knuckle Boxing such an attractive proposition for retired professionals?
Firstly, it’s the routine element of it. These are fighters who only know fighting and, when they retire from the pro ranks, it leaves a massive, irreplaceable void in their lives.
The second thing is the hunger for success again. DeGale, admittedly, would be nowhere near world title level if he returned to a professional boxing ring. As we have seen with Austin Trout, though, if he adapts well to Bare Knuckle Boxing, he could become a world champion in his first five fights.
Thirdly, there’s the money. BKFC especially are paying big sums. They’ve already splashed out on Conor McGregor becoming part of the organisation and they’re now starting to dangle the money carrot in front of well-known retired boxers.
What boxers are starting to find out, though—sometimes the hard way—is that it is a completely different sport, and the skills in professional boxing are not necessarily guaranteed to transfer into Bare Knuckle.
There’s a grappling element that favours MMA fighters. The lack of gloves obviously favours them too, as they’re used to competing with lighter gloves. It’s not simply a case of being able to box, therefore you’re a Bare Knuckle champion in waiting. It really doesn’t work like that.
It’ll certainly be intriguing to see how DeGale fares, but let’s hope it isn’t a repeat of Gavin and Cox’s debuts.
The next step for Bare Knuckle organisations will be to prise active professional boxers away from the sport.
It may take a while, and they may need even more investment due to the sheer amount of money currently in boxing, but you get the feeling that it’s a case of “when” and not “if”.