BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, the world’s largest professional bare knuckle boxing organization, today announced it will head to the Tyne for the very first time on Saturday, October 10, with BKB 60 live from the Utilita Arena Newcastle.
Planting the flag in the North East is an explosive heavyweight main event between former multi-promotion champion and hometown favourite Mick Terrill and top contender Kamil Sokolowski. In the co-main event, two of BKB’s most decorated fighters collide for the BKB Super Welterweight World Championship, as reigning champion Rolando “Dy Incredible” Dy defends his title against Scott “The Mute” McHugh.
David Tetreault, CEO of BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, said: “Newcastle has always been one of the most passionate fight cities in the country, and BKB 60 is exactly the kind of card this crowd deserves. Mick Terrill headlining at home against a live threat like Kamil Sokolowski, and Rolando Dy defending his title against Scott McHugh, gives fans two must-see fights on the same night. This is a huge night for BKB and for bare knuckle boxing in the North East.”
North Shields native Terrill (11-2, 10 KOs) returns home a bona fide heavyweight legend. A multi-promotion World Heavyweight Champion, now he brings that big fight atmosphere back to his own backyard, wearing BKB colors, in an all action fight fans in the North East will love.
Mick Terrill said: “There’s nothing like fighting in front of my own people. Newcastle has seen me become a world champion once, in this very arena, and now I get to push closer to my world title shot once again wearing BKB colours. Kamil’s tough and durable, but I’m going to give this crowd a knockout they’ll be talking about for years. Once I knock him out, I want my shot at Gustavo for the title.”
Standing in his way is Sokolowski (3-1 BKB), a Poland-born, Devon-based heavyweight who has already tested himself against elite BKB competition, including a hard-fought clash with former title challenger Mark O’Neil. Long before he ever stepped into the trigon, Sokolowski built a reputation as one of gloved boxing’s most durable opponents, sharing the ring as a
professional with the likes of Dillian Whyte, Martin Bakole, David Price, world champion Lucas Browne, David Adeleye, Otto Wallin, Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov, and Olympic medalist Frazer Clarke.
A come-forward, high-volume brawler with nothing to lose, Sokolowski has made a habit of testing fighters with bigger reputations, and he arrives in Newcastle looking to do exactly that to the hometown hero in the biggest fight of his career.
Kamil Sokolowski said: “Mick’s the hometown favourite, but this is my chance to silence the crowd and prove I belong at the top of this division. I’ve already been in with the best heavyweights BKB has, and I’m not in Newcastle to make up the numbers, I’m coming to win.”
In the co-main event, Filipino star Dy defends the BKB Super Welterweight World Championship for the second time since becoming the first fighter from the Philippines to win a BKB world title. The son of former WBC world champion Rolando Navarrete, Dy (6-1, 5 KOs) defeated champion Liam Rees to capture the tilte, and followed up with a brutal second-round stoppage of two-division boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi at the AO Arena in Manchester in his inaugural title defense.
Rolando Dy said: “Defending my title is always the goal, no matter where or who’s in front of me. Scott’s a real champion in his own right with a résumé to prove it, but I’ve worked too hard for this belt to let it go anywhere.”
Dy’s toughest test yet comes in the form of Leeds native McHugh, a five-time world champion and Bare Knuckle Hall of Fame inductee, widely regarded as one of the most experienced fighters in the sport. A veteran of more than 20 professional bare knuckle bouts, McHugh now gets the opportunity to add the prestigious Police Gazette Diamond Belt to his already decorated resume.
Scott McHugh said: “I’ve fought all over the world and won titles everywhere I’ve been, and I’m here to add another one to my collection. Rolando’s a great champion, but every champion loses eventually, and I plan on making that happen in Newcastle.”
Also featured on the card are two of the sport’s biggest international names. Undefeated welterweight Adel Altamimi, who fights out of Los Angeles by way of Baghdad, Iraq, returns to the UK following a Fight of the Night performance at BKB 57 in LA, which came after a highlight-reel knockout in his BKB debut in London in February. UK bare knuckle fans will also get their first opportunity to see Olympic veteran and former IBF World Champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. live in action.
BKB 60 marks the promotion’s first-ever event in Newcastle, further expanding its footprint across the UK and giving fans in the North East their first taste of world-class bare knuckle boxing live and in person.
